Let Me Be Your Star
by AlphaWriter1
Summary: "Why are you helping me?""Because you're a star.You were born a star and you're meant to be the brightest one out there.""I don't feel like it.""Well, you just need a little help shining sometimes."Rachel Berry's in New York,because Finn Hudson set her free. But,Finn wasn't the only New Directions member who loved her. Noah Puckerman's chasing after her to help her shine *REWRIT*
1. Chapter 1:Goodbye:The Real Ending

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 1  
_A/N: This is a re-write because I didn't like where it was going and I felt the need to add something to the beginning._  
**

Noah Puckerman couldn't believe that his best friend, Finn Hudson, was allowing the love of both of their lives to just leave. He was going to call of the wedding and send her on a train to New York City. He was shocked that Finn was actually doing something as silly and foolish as thinking that a girl as incredible as her would still be available for him when he was done doing whatever he felt the need to do in the army to clear his father's name. Personally, Puck thought that Finn was doing another one of his attention seeking things, now that he'd been rejected by his school of choice. Either way, he was making it too easy for New Directions to lose their most important member.

_Rachel Barbra Berry._

Rachel had gotten into NYADA, against all odds, and soon she'd been forgetting about all of her old glee club friends and pointless ex-boyfriends who'd done nothing but hurt her. She wouldn't worry about the people who had mocked her. She'd be caught up in school, in auditions, and in Broadway itself. She would find some sort of star to take the place as her boyfriend and eventually he would be her fiance and they'd have little Jewish babies that were just full of rare talent and a drive to make them get someplace with their talent.

And it was because Finn was just giving her up because he wanted to be foolish and silly. He didn't want her to postpone her dreams, so instead he was going to take her heart from her chest and pound on it. And he'd asked all of New Directions to come and attend Rachel's final farewell. Which just sickened him.

Of course, if Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce still hated Rachel-or if Quinn Fabray was still envious of her-and he knew for a fact he wouldn't be the only Glee club member not attending her goodbye, he wouldn't have showed up to encourage any of this. Unfortunately, the girls had gotten emotional because of senior year so now each and every member of the glee club was here to say goodbye to Rachel Berry, who was just approaching them.

She looked beautiful, but that was to be expected, wasn't it? She was a gorgeous girl, after all. Her hair was long and straight, falling right down her back. Her bangs ended right above her full, thick eyelashes that covered those incredible brown eyes that Puck longed to just stare at all day long. She wore one of her short little outfits, covered by a long, red jacket that was actually just as short as her skirt was. She had on white knee socks with a pair of high heeled Mary Janes. All that was missing to show how she'd changed from freshman year was the small smile that showed she knew she was alone in the world. Because she no longer was alone. No matter what happened, she would always have Puck there, wether she knew it or not.

She slowly made her way through the glee club, hugging most of her fellow seniors and a select few of the juniors. Some under class men simply got pats on the shoulders or a meaningful, tear filled stare that told them that Rachel Berry was telling them to never forget about music, because they were just much too talented for that.

He barely got a tap on the shoulder. She made her way to Kurt, hugging him tightly. Kurt was in tears as well, so he didn't say anything about the tears that were staining his shirt. She kissed Kurt on the cheek before making her way to BlaineN Anderson, hugging another one of her ex boyfriends. It seemed that Puck was the only ex-boyfriend and ex-senior to not get a hug. Even the gay boys had gotten more than he had from the girl he loved.

He glared as she stood on tip toes to give Finn a sad, slow yet brief last kiss goodbye before boarding the train. She took a seat and stared out the window at her friends. Everybody waved at her, as if they were actually happy she was leaving them all behind. Finn just stared at her. Puck, on the other hand, formed a heart with his hands and moved it towards his chest. He saw her frown slightly, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion, but then the train took over and Finn started running, trying to keep on with the train, until she was gone and he could no longer keep up.

He slowly made his way back towards the New Directions and his step-brother, Kurt Hummel, made his way towards Finn to comfort him. Puck didn't think that Finn deserved any comfort. He'd been the one to get this idea. He'd been the one to cause this pain for all of them. Finn was behind it all. And Puck knew why. Finn knew that Rachel would realize that she was meant for bigger and better things than Lima, and, for him as well. Finn didn't want to lose her after he'd been so close to keeping her forever, and he did not want to risk her resentment for holding her back. So he'd ended it and sent her away, ensuring that he wouldn't have to hear about her romances, and making sure that nobody he was close with ended up with the girl. He was being self_ish _not self_less _as everybody believed. And that angered Puck.

"YOU JUST LET HER GO?" Puck screamed at Finn, lunging towards his supposed best friend and tackling him the ground. "I can't believe you'd just let her go," He glared, marking each word with a hard punch to the face.

"Puck!" He was being pulled away from Finn, but he was still tossing punches. Sam Evans and Mike Chang were pulling him away from Finn who slowly brought himself to his feet, staring at his best friend and wiping his mouth.

"What's your problem?" Blaine asked, turning towards Puck.

"She'll be back," Quinn whispered.

"Why do you even care?" Santana wondered.

"You're in love with her too," Finn whispered, his eyes locked on his best friend, a sad smile on his face.

Puck didn't answer. Instead, he pushed himself free of his friends' hold and walked away. But, he didn't leave the train station. Instead, he entered it and walked towards the ticket booth. Buying a ticket for the next train to New York City. He was not giving up without a fight just because Finn was. He was going to chase after the girl he loved.


	2. Chapter 2:A Phone Call

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 2**

Rachel Berry had had a plan since the day she'd started kindergarden. It was a rather simple plan. All it required was just a little bit of focus. She needed to get practically flawless grades. She was involved in every single club her school had to offer. And when it came to her talent, she was always working on improvement. She went to vocal lessons twice a week. She attended dance classes once a week per class, where she took ballet, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. Any opportunity the school offered her to perform, she grasped it. And that had been where joining New Directions had fell into her plan. A school glee club that went to competitions? The perfect way for Rachel to enhance her already incredible talent.

Recently, her plan had changed though. She was going to bring somebody just as talented with her. She had a best friend now, after all, and he had the same dream and just as much drive as she did. So why shouldn't he accompany her to New York City to attend New York's Academy of Dramatic Arts? There was no reason at all. Besides that, she was going to marry fresh out of high school, to the only boy she'd ever loved. He had talent as well, and he was going to be an actor. Rachel would get her happily ever after and her dream job, all the while enjoying her life with her best friend. She couldn't see any flaws in her plan.

And then, suddenly, all those things she thought were definite, the ones that depended on other people's abilities, started to fall apart. Kurt Hummel, her best friend who had given an incredible audition for the school, was not accepted. He'd been rejected without any rhyme nor reason. He'd just opened his letter to see that he would not be attending NYADA. It might as well have told him that his Broadway dreams were over as well, because if he couldn't get into NYADA with any audition like his, there was no way he'd ever be able to star in a Broadway show. As for Finn Hudson, her young fiance, he did not get into his acting school he'd applied to. Neither of them would be accompanying her to New York City after all.

So, Rachel developed a new plan. She was going to wait to attend NYADA until the following year. In her year off, she would do her very best to help Finn and Kurt prepare even better audition pieces for their next time around. She'd help them work on their applications. She would make sure they got into their dream schools as well, so that the three of them could all go and study in NYC together, enjoying the life they'd planned out so carefully.

Somewhere along the way though, Finn must of misunderstood something. He'd gotten her into the car, thinking she was going to her wedding, but he'd taken her to the train station and sent her to New York.

_This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to me anyways. _She thought as she paced the floor of the suite her parents had gotten her to live in until August, when she could go and officially move into her dorm room. She was all alone, with nobody to help her. Rachel had never actually been on her own. Even when she'd been friendless for her first year at McKinley, she'd at least had her parents to support her. And once Sophomore year started, she got real friends. She got boyfriends.

_How could he just dump me? And of course he decided to join the army! That was his plan all along, wasn't it? Break my heart so he could go fulfill some pipe dream of clearing his father's name? If his letters hadn't worked, what made him think his services would work? Or...worse...what if it was like genetics or something and the same thing happened to Finn? Oh god...what if he never really loved me? What if...what if this whole army thing is just his nice-guy way of ending things so he doesn't have to marry me. What if he realized his mistake and knew he didn't actually love me as much as I loved him and he'd always claimed to love me? _

She was torn from her thoughts-she sighed in relief, as those thoughts were terrible, scary, and just too awful to think about-as soon as her cell phone rang. She reached for the iPhone and unlocked it slowly, not really registering the name on the screen. She was pretty sure that it was Kurt, calling her to make sure she was okay. Or maybe Mercedes, ready to talk about how pissed off Rachel must be before she needed to board her plane to LA. Perhaps it was Finn, ready to say he regretted everything and was on his way to meet her, because he couldn't be without the girl he loved. She sighed as she answered the phone, placing it on her shoulder and to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked, turning around and plopping down onto her bed. She took her hairbrush from the bag on her nightstand and began brushing out her long, dark chocolate colored, wavy locks. Maybe she wasn't home anymore, but she still couldn't sleep without at least brushing her hair out.

"Hey, Berry," The soft, velvety voice that was just low enough for every single girl in school to think of as the sexiest voice of a bad ass in the entire school. Rachel knew that voice all too well. She'd once fallen under it's spell, after all.

"Puck?" She asked.

"Since when am I just Puck?" He wondered.

That made her smile just a little bit. "Noah," She said.

"I always loved it when you said my name," He whispered.

"Are you drunk?" She gasped.

"Hell, no, Rach-you think they give you hard liquor on a train? Especially when I'm only eighteen," He laughed.

"On a...Noah, where are you? What's going on?" She asked nervously. Was he okay? Was something wrong with him? Oh god, why was he calling _her? _Had he already forgotten that she was hours away in another city, in another state? Then again...she didn't remember seeing him at the train station before she'd left. So maybe he just didn't care. But...if he didn't care, then why was he calling her? "Are you in trouble?" She asked quickly.

"No, I'm not in trouble-god, Rach, I call your dads to bail me out _one _time and then every time I call you, you just assume I'm in trouble," He laughed.

"What do you want then?"

"I'm on my way to New York City,"

"Why?"

"Santana called."

"To say?"

"You have an audition already? Well, I'm not surprised. I actually assumed the mayor would be waiting to greet you when you got off the train."

"You've seen_ Chorus Line_?"

"Don't act all surprised."

"Okay, so she told you about the Rent audition-so what?"

"So, I'm coming to help you."

"I don't need help!"

"Don't act all offended. It's for Mimi, ain't it?"

"So?"

"You think you can pull off the sexy factor? I mean, I know you _can _but I don't think you're able to."

"What's that mean?"

"Mimi's all about the _sex,"_

"Oh, whatever."

"I'll be there in a few hours, okay?"

"Fine," She sighed and told him exactly where she was staying.


	3. Chapter 3:A Kiss

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 3**

Puck had been lying to Rachel when he'd called her. He'd lied to her about many things in that conversation, actually. He hadn't just been getting on the train to help her with her audition. He was just using that as an excuse to go and see her. He'd actually already been in New York City. He also was not sober. He was drunk. He'd needed to come up with some way to kill time to make up for the multiple hour long train ride into the city, after all, and he'd found a simple bar that hadn't even tried to card him. By the time he'd called Rachel, figuring he only had to waste about two more hours, he had been beyond drunk. It was a wonder he was able to keep up with his lie.

Now, though, he was somewhat sober. He had a major head ache, a sign that the morning would bring him a terrible hang over, but other than that, he was sober. So, he entered the hotel she'd mentioned and gotten onto the elevator, riding up to the top floor and walking towards her suite. He knocked on the door and tried not to smile as soon as she opened the door, wearing a tiny little jersey-like night shirt from Victoria's Secret that read MEET ME IN THE DUGOUTS in black and white. Her hair was up in a sloppy bun above her head and her make-up had been cleaning wiped from her face. She looked beautiful, but that was usual for her. She looked sexy as well, and that was a slight surprise for Puck.

"Still think I can't play Mimi?" She smirked at him, stepping aside so he could walk inside. She closed the door behind him and socked him playfully in the arm. "Still don't think I'm sexy enough?" She teased, dropping onto her couch.

Puck ignored her teasing, looking around the room with a frown on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why isn't your stuff unpacked?" He asked, noticing her bag sitting on a luggage rack, opened, with all of her clothes in it. He could see a make-up bag on the dresser in her bedroom as well and noticed the bare counter in the bathroom.

"It's not like this is home," She shrugged, rolling her eyes at him.

"New York is your home now," He told her.

"No...it's not," She shook her head. "And, either way, come August, I'm gonna be in a dorm," She explained.

"Rachel," He sighed. "Until August, you're living here, wether you want to believe it or not. Finn? He's joining the army. He left you. It's over with him. You are here, in New York City, going to NYADA. You've got all of your dreams lined up for her along the road, so, do me a favor and get over your whole pity act where you pretend like you can't believe this is happening, alright? Stop acting as if you believe he's going to come back for you, because he isn't going to. And you don't need him. You're better than that, you know that, right? You deserve better. He's selfish. He knew you could do better, so he broke up with you and sent you away so that he didn't have to see you move on, alright?" He snapped at her. If he'd been sober, he wouldn't be yelling at her. He never yelled at her, after all. He loved her too much.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" She asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not like I asked you to come-you just decided I didn't have the talent to get the part on my own, so you took off and got on a train to meet me. You know what? Go to California and start your business and have sex with all those old women you like so much! I don't need you!" She snapped at him.

"Old women?" He raised an eyebrow, his usual bad boy smirk already in place on his face.

"You have a thing for cougars," Rachel muttered, shrugging slightly.

"Why'd you feel the need to throw that in there, Berry?" He asked her, taking a step towards her.

"I...it just...I don't...oh, shut up," She snapped at him again.

"Are you jealous?" He wondered. "Is my hot, little Jewish-American princess jealous of all those lovely mothers that wanted and got a piece of the Puckasarous?" He teased, still walking towards her.

"What?" She laughed, shaking her head. "You're crazy," She rolled her eyes. "Me? Jealous of old women just because they got to have sex with you?" She turned on her heel and started to walk away from him. Her face was turning red though, and he could tell he was getting somewhere with her.

"Well, you know...there's really no need to be jealous," He explained, walking towards her. She paused and turned around, staring up at him with defiance in her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest again.

"I already told you," She said indignantly. "I'm not jealous of you and the women you have sex with while cleaning their pools. I'm not envious of my mother for having sex with you, because, frankly? It's a little disgusting," She smirked at him.

"I think," He said softly, taking her hands and holding them together in one of his own at her wrists, smiling down at her. "That you're more jealous than you want to admit," He whispered, his face staring right down at hers with that smirk in place, as always when he was having fun taunting a girl who he knew was into him, even if she didn't want to admit it herself.

"I am _not _jealous! In fact, I'm not a virgin anyways-because I wouldn't have sex with _you, _but I _would _sleep with-"He never let her finish. Mostly, because he himself was too jealous to hear her say those words that Finn was always saying to him. He didn't want to hear it from Rachel, because that would only confirm it.

The second reason was because he just couldn't bare not kissing her anymore. So, he leaned down and closed the space between them, dropping her wrists and placing his hands on her tiny hips, kissing her with a passion that could only rival their previous make-out sessions.


	4. Chapter 4: A Fight

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 4**

"What are you doing?" Rachel screeched, pushing Puck away from her. She was angry, staring at him in disbelief over the fact that he'd actually just bend over and kiss her as if he had a right to do so. But, a part of her also hated herself for ending the kiss so suddenly, because a part of her actually wanted him to kiss her again. "God, Puck, you can't just swoop in and try to charm your way into any girl's heart, especially when she just got left the day of her wedding by her fiance!" She snapped, pushing past him and sitting down on her couch, burying her face in her hands, feeling conflicted on so many levels. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself? God, this is why you'll never go anywhere with your life, you don't know what you want!" She glared at him, knowing her words were harsh, bitter and hurtful, but frankly just not caring.

"My life is music, Rachel," He said, an amused smile on his face. "And _you _just so happen to be my favorite song," He smiled at her. "Listen, did Finn hurt you?" He asked her. She gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. "Well, he's a jerk then, because the only way a boy should ever hurt a girl is from hugging her too much," He said boldly, his arms crossed over his chest. "And, frankly, he's a frog...and it's always better for a girl to sleep for a hundred years while she waits for the right _prince _than waste that time kissing one hundred of the wrong frogs," He told her.

"You act like life's some big fairytale and all girl's are princesses," She rolled her eyes, bringing her knees up to her chest as she lowered her chin onto the top of her knees. She wrapped her arms around her legs and glared at him from her small little body that formed a tight little ball.

"That's because all girl's are princesses. I mean, you've got Quinn, who's got to be Snow White, because she's the 'fairest of them all' and all that shit, and then you've got Santana, who any guy would want to date, despite her desire to not marry or really be with any of them. Brittany is Cinderella, because everybody under estimates her." He explained softly, walking towards her. "Mercedes is Pocahontas, because she knows exactly who she wants to be and she's just so natural," He shrugged. "Then there's Tina...she's brainy, but she's pretty good looking, so I'd say she's like Belle," He went on. "And then we have you, and baby, you're Ariel, because you've got this incredible gift, and you're ready to give it all up for a guy who just doesn't care about you and would trade you in when the next best thing comes along," He smiled at her.

"I...do you really...what are you trying to say?" She asked him.

"I'm saying that if you listened to my heartbeat and compared it to your own, you'd hear absolutely no difference. And that's because your heartbeat plays my favorite song. Do you believe in magic?" He asked her suddenly. She nodded, giving him a confused look. "Well, I believe in music the same way everybody else believes in magic. And you wanna know what made that happen? It was about the second month of school and you and Finn were in the auditorium singing _Don't Stop Believing _back in sophomore year, and I just thought...wow, so this is music," He explained. "And after that day, all I could hear was _your _voice, because in my opinion, that's the only song I ever need to hear. It's the soundtrack of my life," He told her.

Rachel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Of course, she should have known that time did not heal anything. After all, the minutes and hours since she'd been sitting here, the pain had only been increased. The months and years to come would only give her more time to realize exactly what it was that she was missing out on with Finn. And thinking about what Puck was saying for too long would result in the same pain.

"I wish I was a little kid again," Rachel whispered. "Because scraped knees? They were so much easier to fix than a broken heart," She told him with a small smile.

He looked up at her and grinned.

"You remember that day?" He asked, laughing slightly.

"Of course I do!" She giggled.

"We were five!" He laughed a little harder.

"Six!" She corrected, now in a fit of giggles.

She remembered that day perfectly. Puck and her had gone to a daycare at the Jewish Community Center after school and the two had been pretty much attached at the hip. One day, a group of boys were making fun of Puck because he only had a mother, and because of his lack of money. Rachel was used to being taunted about her parents, since she had two fathers, so, she'd walked up to the boys and tried to defend Puck. Of course, that just made it all worse. But, even back then, Rachel had a stone cold glare that could scare away anybody. So, soon enough, the bullies were gone. That was when Rachel noticed the cut on Puck's knee from having been pushed to the ground. Puck had begged her not to tell anybody, so, she'd helped him instead, cleaning it out for him and bandaging it herself. Then, they never spoke about it again.

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes as he approached the couch and sat down besides her. "Is this alright?" He asked her.

"Noah?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Could you just hold me?" She whispered, unfolding herself from her ball and lying her head on his chest, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her. She grinned, finally feeling safe for the first time since arriving in New York, now that she was in his arms.

"Hey, Berry?" He whispered. She didn't answer. She was in that place between sleep and awake. The only place where a person could actually realize they were dreaming, and somewhat control their dreams. It was a rare place to be in, and Rachel loved that place. "I love you, Berry," He whispered, pushing a strand of hair from her face. Rachel didn't know if it was just a dream or if he'd really said it, just as Puck wasn't sure if Rachel had heard it or not.


	5. Chapter 5: A Visitor

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 5**

"Rachel Barbra Berry, you are so _very _lucky that happen to love my step-brother and that he decided to take full blame for you heading off to New York City without me when we both agreed that no matter _what _happened, we'd be-Puck?" Kurt Hummel was ranting as he flung open the door to Rachel Berry's suite early the next morning to find Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman intertwined with each other on the couch in her front room. He turned towards the bell hop and pulled out his wallet, handing him a five as he took his bags and flung them into the room. As soon as he slammed the door shut behind him, Puck was awake enough and aware enough to comment on Kurt's rude entrance and annoying wake-up call. _  
_

"Kurt," Puck said through clenched teeth, putting his head back and closing his eyes as he tried to control his anger. "Can you please just _shut up?" _He hissed, carefully lifting Rachel up so that he could stand up. He set her back down on the couch and turned towards the girl's best friend. "Rachel had a rather hard day yesterday, alright?" He sighed, a fake smile on his face.

"Does she know what you did to Finn at the train station?" Kurt asked him, crossing his arms over his chest. Despite his scrawny built and perfectly tailored designer clothes, Kurt could be rather intimidating when he got angry. "Because I can only imagine how that could have made her day _difficult," _He rolled his eyes.

"I didn't think it was important..."Puck shook his head. He didn't need to defend himself to Kurt.

"Not important?" Kurt whispered harshly. "In case you haven't noticed, she _loves _Finn and he left her. And then he sent her away. And you attacked him because _you love her," _Kurt screeched.

"Shut up!" Puck glared at him.

"Oh my god..."Kurt gasped. "You didn't tell her," He whispered, bringing his hand to his mouth in shock. "Oh my god," He repeated, walking towards Rachel's bathroom, running a hand through his milk chocolate colored hair that fell in a carefully sloppy style. "I can't believe it...and you still slept with her?" He whirled around to face Puck.

"You really think I'd do that? Come here and take advantage of Rachel like that?" Puck asked him, glaring at the boy in his Ralph Lauren jeans and Burberry tee shirt with the Gucci blazer over it. Kurt was nothing more than a spoiled little rich boy who thought he knew Puck just because he assumed the rebel was like all other boys from a dead beat father with a hard ass working mother who barely made enough to support their family. "In case _you _haven't noticed, I happen to be in love with her. I would _never _sleep with her right after a break up. And believe me, I've had my chances to have sex with her. I had opportunities before Finn ever did," He glared at Kurt.

Kurt gasped, turning around and pacing the suite slowly, running his hand through his hair and across his chin, rubbing his face as he tried to make sense of what was going on around him. Puck leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched the boy with an amused smirk on his face.

Nobody could really understand how Puck was with a girl when he really cared about her. He'd come up and hug her from behind if she seemed to be having a bad day. If she was sad, he'd just lie there and cuddle with her. He text her constantly with cute little notes to show how much he cared. He never tried to force a girl to do more than she wanted, not if he actually loved her and cared about her, considering her as an actual human being with actual feelings. He'd only felt that about two girls in his life. Quinn Fabray, and Rachel Berry.

"If you didn't have sex with her," Kurt began slowly, turning around cautiously to face Puck. "And you didn't plan on making a move on her," He went on. "Then why are you here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you think?" Puck asked, eyeing the sad looking girl who was lying on the couch. Even in her sleep it was clear that she'd been crying repeatedly the day before.

"You came all this way just so she wouldn't be alone?" Kurt asked him suspiscously. "What are you _really _doing here?" He asked, clearly not believing Puck and anything he was saying, no matter how true it really was.

"Why are _you _here?" Puck challenged him.

"Rachel and I made these plans ages ago. We've had them set since summer," Kurt told Puck. "Now, you haven't answered my question," He said.

"I'm here because I love her. Finn loves her too, but he wasn't willing to fight for her. He didn't want her to give up on her goals, but he wasn't willing to make the sacrifices needed to make it work. Well, I _am _willing and I'm going to fight for my chance to be with her, because I've loved her since we were little kids," Puck told Kurt, his eyes locked on the guy who had replaced him as Rachel's best friend somewhere along the road.

"You actually expect me to believe that you-"

"Puck?" Rachel grumbled, rolling over and propping herself up on an elbow. "What's going on?" She yawned, stretching her arms and studying the two boys before her. "Kurt? What are you-when did you-what's going on?" She repeated.

"I came because we had plans to live in New York and make it big, remember?" Kurt smiled.

"Oh my god," Rachel grinned. "You're going to stay with me anyways?" She smiled.

"Of course I am," Kurt grinned back at her.

"And Kurt and I were just discussing how the arrangements would be made until I take off," Puck smiled at her.

"Oh my god," She gasped. "I totally forgot you were staying here too! Well, Kurt and I can take the bedroom, and you'll just have to sleep on the pull-out-sorry," She flinched. "How long are you staying?" SHe asked.

"As long as you need me," Puck smiled, flashing a warning glare at Kurt who shook his head in distaste. Kurt was certain that there was something going on inside Puck's head that wasn't good, but he couldn't be sure.


	6. Chapter 6: A Flirt Session

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 6  
_A/N: Here's a cute little fluffy chapter full of Pucklberry! Review if you get the jokes!_  
**

"You have to try that again. When you get to the 'They say that I have the best ass...' part, you should really be playing up your ass, you know? It fits the line, and, well, I mean, you do...have a nice...never mind," Puck explained as he sat on Rachel's bed. She glared at him as she crossed her arms, plopping down on the chair at the desk in her room.

"Puck, I'm _tired," _She whined. "We've gone over this ten times in the past half _hour," _She complained to him.

"Well, you're not turning me on enough," He reasoned with her. She glared at him, making a face as she picked up a notepad from the desk and threw it at him. It bounced off his chest and he crossed his arms at her. "I advice you not to mess with me," He told her. "I happen to know karate, kung fu, judo, and thirty other dangerous words," He bragged.

"Oh, watch out," She rolled her eyes. "We've got a bad ass over here," She said sarcastically, putting her hands up in the universal sign of surrender.

"Those are some very adult words there," He gasped at her. It was the first time he'd ever heard her swear. It actually sort of turned him on a little. Then again, very little she did happened to turn him anything but on.

"I never understood that," She frowned. "If swearing is supposed to be immature, then why is it called adult language?" She wondered. "Then again...I also never understood why it was so sweet when a guy opened a door and let a girl go first," She shrugged.

"Well, it does just sound like a polite way of us telling you to go right ahead so we can stare at your ass...which is exactly what we mean when we say that," Puck laughed. "And you know what else is kind of twisted? When a girl says whatever and then acts like every thing's okay? I mean, it's obvious to everybody that it's not really okay and you're frankly just pissed," He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Up, that's right," She admitted. She was teasing him, playing with him, mostly to get out of practicing, because she was just too tired to keep trying the same song over and over again without any helpful advice besides 'be sexier' and 'play the ass'. What did that even mean? "When we say whatever, we really mean that we hope you get shot off of a bridge and land in a river where you are painfully carried with rocks and other sharp objects to the ocean where you will then be raped by a shark and eventually eaten by it," She explained.

"Okay, I know what you're doing," He shook his head. "Get to work, alright? You want the part? Then you need to be sexier," He said.

"Listen, if all they're going to look at is my legs, thighs and breasts, can't I just bring them a bucket of KFC?" She asked.

"Well, yeah, you could...but they'll still be checking out your ass," He shrugged.

"Come here," She replied.

"Why?" He asked, suspicion filling his tone and eyes.

"Just come here," She smiled.

"No, you're just going to hit me," He shook his head. "Listen, just run it one more time, okay?" He asked her.

"Puck, can't we take a break?" She asked.

"What do you call what we just did?" He asked.

_Flirting. _The only problem with that answer, despite it's honesty, was that it would just make everything awkward and make it so very hard for them to have fun while they worked. After all, he'd been with tons of girls. To him, their conversation had probably been nothing more than just an average, everyday conversation between two friends. Nothing special. It didn't warrant a crush from either side. Not that she was saying she liked him, of course. It was much too soon-way too close to her break up with Finn and the canceled engagement.

"What are you staring at?" She asked him, instead of answering his question.

"Nothing..."He shook his head. "You look familiar," He told her.

"We've known each other since kindergarden," She giggled, running a hand through her hair uncomfortably.

"No...I mean...you remind me of-"

"Everybody reminds you of somebody. Besides, that's the oldest line in the book. I always remind people of-wait a second...who are you talking about?" Rachel asked him curiously.

"You remind me of a girl who I used to know, back sixth grade, who had so much talent and potential, but she didn't want to work for it. She knew she was good, but she was fine with staying at the level of perfection she was currently at. She didn't believe she needed to do any better than she already as doing. Do you know who that girl is?" He asked her, eyes locked on her.

"You remember that?" She asked him, eyes growing wide.

"I remember you getting so proud because you got the lead in the sixth grade pageant for graduation, and when they said you weren't hitting the last night quite right, you got so pissed you refused to admit you were making a mistake and you wouldn't practice it," He nodded.

"Puck...I stop trying when I know I can't do something. I knew I couldn't reach that note in time for the pageant," She shrugged. "And I'm not attractive enough to play Mimi. I mean, I know what Santana and Quinn did for me at prom. I've heard Brittany and Sugar talk about me behind my back. I understand that I'm not beautiful," She shrugged.

"If somebody every tells you that you're not beautiful," Puck said darkly. "I want you to just turn around and walk away. Because then they can have a lovely view of your fabulous ass," He told her.

"You're obsessed with my ass," She rolled her eyes. "And it's actually rather sad, because it just proves my point. If a guy really likes a girl, he'd call her beautiful. Because she's not _hot. _She's not a temperature, she's a person. Just like when you whistle at a girl? She's not answering you because she's not a dog," She replied. "I understand that guys like to have swag and all that shit, but since when does swag involve being an ass to girls?" She wondered. She really was swearing quite a lot today. Apparently she had a lot of empty years to make up for.

"You know what? You're right. I'm going to try a new tactic, actually," He smirked. "Kiss me if I'm wrong..."He began.

"What?" She gasped.

"Just do it!" He replied.

"Fine," She rolled her eyes.

"Kiss me if I'm wrong...but dinosaurs still exist, right?" He asked her.

"I hate you," She glared.

"You promised."

"You _tricked _me!"

"A promise is a promise."

"Screw you."

"Yes, please-but can I get that kiss first?"

"You want a kiss?" Rachel asked sweetly.

"Hell yeah," Puck laughed. "But, then again, when don't I?" He wondered.

"I'll give you one."

"Really?"

"Yeah," She smiled, standing up and coming towards him. She plopped herself down on his lap and leaned in to kiss him. Right before her lips made contact, she blew a raspberry in his face. "LOSER!" She screamed in content.

"You shouldn't have done that," He glared.

"What are you going to do about it?" She asked.

"This!" He replied, grabbing her arms and flipping her over so that he was on top. He reached for her sides and started to tickle her. She burst into giggles almost immediately. Her ticklish spots hadn't changed in years.

"Puck, stop it!" SHe giggled.

"Say that I'm the hottest guy you know and that you wish I'd allow you to kiss me," He threatened.

"NEVER!" She gasped between laughs. "Seriously, stop it," She begged.

Just then the door opened and Kurt came walking in, a scowl on his face which was only worsened by the sight he saw upon entering the bedroom.

"Hey, Kurt," Puck smiled, tossing Rachel to the side gently and shooting into an upright position.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked him.

"My stupid GPS," He complained.

"Did it tell you to go straight?" Puck wondered. Kurt only deepened his scowl even more. He couldn't respond, because as soon as Puck's joke was finished, Rachel burst out laughing, joined in quickly by Puck.


	7. Chapter 7: A Coffee Run

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 7  
_A/N: Another sickly sweet Puckleberry chapter for you guys. _  
**

"You wanna go to Starbucks?" Puck asked Rachel early the next morning as the typical early riser walked out of her bedroom in a pair of plaid capri pajama bottoms and a form fitting, white, off the shoulder tee shirt. "I was on my way there, but you're up, so I figured I'd ask," He replied, slipping his grey v-neck muscle tee on over his head. He woke up even earlier than Rachel, and this had been the latest he'd slept since his arrival. With his light colored tee shirt, he work dark denim straight leg jeans and black Converse.

"Um...I'm not, like, showered or anything," She whispered, her eyes locked on something beyond Puck. He smirked. He loved how flustered she got whenever she saw something other than his face, arms, and his legs below the knee.

"It's New York," He said, as if it was obvious. "Who cares?" He wondered, shrugging as he grabbed his wallet and stuffed it into his pockets. "You coming or what?" He asked, turning around and heading towards the door. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Well?" He asked, turning towards her and flashing a little smirk at her.

"Can I just slip some jeans on?" She asked him, grabbing her hair and twisting it into a messy bun on the top of her head as she walked back into her room.

"I'll wait," He called out to her. They didn't have to worry about things as silly as volume, because Kurt was an insanely sound sleeper. He could sleep through another World War.

Puck sighed as he stood by the door, waiting as patiently as he could for Rachel to slip on a simple pair of jeans. He shook his head as he glanced at his watch. She finally left her room ten minutes later, wearing a pair of denim capri skinny jeans, cuffed at the ankle with Coach boat shoes in black and white with a simple white button down blouse, the sleeves rolled to her elbow.

"Ready," She smiled.

He couldn't even be angry that it had taken her so long, because she looked so damn good.

* * *

The pair entered the nearest Starbucks to Rachel's hotel and walked towards the counter. Puck ordered his usual-a mocha cookie crumble frappacino, while Rachel studied the menu thoroughly before deciding on a white chocolate mocha latte. Puck smiled at her as he grabbed the drinks and carried them towards the counter where he had to grab his straw. He took a pen from his pocket and worked some magic on the cup. He approached Rachel and handed it to her.

"Read the warning," He nodded towards her as they started to walk back to her suite.

"Why? It always-oh my god," She replied, studying the words that had been covered up and the only three words left.

**_You're Extremely Hot_**

"Noah Puckerman," She scolded playfully. "I can't believe you'd write something so terrible on my cup," She shook her head. "It wasn't funny at all," She replied swiftly.

"What do you mean? Most girls swoon over that," He defended himself.

"No, Noah," She shook her head. "You see, what if that guy who had waited on us had been extremely good looking? What if I'd assumed he'd been the one to write that message to me? Where would we be then?" She asked.

"I'd be one miserable son of a bitch," He replied carelessly.

"And what do you mean by _most _girls?" She asked him.

"Are you jealous? I thought we covered the jealousy conversation already," He sighed, shaking his head at her.

"I'm not jealous," She rolled her eyes. "I just assumed that you were different with me, you know?" She asked.

"Of course I'm-"

"I don't mean that you don't want anything from me." She replied, cutting him off. "I meant that I thought you didn't hit on me because we were friends and you respected me as a person," She sighed.

"Rach," He shook his head as the entered the hotel. "Of course I respect you as a person. I understand that you're not a piece of meat, okay? You're my friend and you have been since we were kids, so don't ever think other wise, alright?" He said.

"When we broke up sophomore year..."She began slowly.

"I said we were never friends, and I was right. We were always best friends," He interrupted. "Berry, you need to get over this lack of confidence you have. Maybe nobody else could see it, but I knew it was always there. It was hidden, because you did a good job of burying it deep down inside of you, but you always had a little bit of a self conscious side that was trying to make you feel like less of a person. And the idiots in our school didn't do a good job of making you think otherwise. So, I want you to listen to me right now, alright? You are a beautiful, incredibly sexy good with a boat load of talent. You're smart, hilarious, and you've got a drive. So, don't let anybody ever take that away from you, because you have a way of sometimes letting your romantic side crush your goals," He told her. He didn't want to bring up names-like Jesse -because he knew that would hurt her too much. But he knew that she understood that he was referring to the vampire-like Vocal Adrenaline star from sophomore year.

"Puck," She whispered as they stepped onto an elevator.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"I...I never knew this side of you," She whispered, turning to face him.

"What side?" He asked, a smirk on his face.

"This sweet side," She whispered. "I wish I had...I feel like everything would have been different," She explained.

"What's that mean?" He asked, reaching out to pull her close.

"I can show you better than I can tell you," She smirked as she wrapped her arms around him, standing on tip toes and reaching up to kiss him. Right as their lips were about to touch, the elevator doors opened and they broke apart to find Kurt standing there, smiling at them, acting oblivious to the scene that had just been shown before him.

"Hey, I was looking for you guys!" HE said brightly as they exited the elevator. "You went to Starbucks without me? And didn't get me anything?" He complained jokingly. Puck scowled at him and Kurt turned around to face him, giving him an evil wink.


	8. Chapter 8: A Thought

**_Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 8_**

Rachel Berry sat in the bedroom of her suite with an avocado facial mask spread across her face, to help her try and relax, since her audition was in two days. Located on the bed besides her was Kurt Hummel, who also had a face mask on. The two were having a nice little bonding session, which was long overdue in both of their eyes. Yet, there was one question that Rachel was dying to ask Kurt that had been the main reason for this agreement to have a make-shift spa day in their room. She just couldn't bring herself to say those words, because she didn't want to believe that the problem actually existed.

"Okay, Berry," Kurt sighed, grabbing the remote and hitting pause on the movie they'd been watching. "Something's bothering you and you better tell me what it is, because it happens to be the opposite of relaxing," He explained, turning to face her.

"Why do you hate Puck so much?" She blurted out without any thought at all. She'd been wondering that since Kurt's arrival, but at first had just brushed it aside as a jealousy issue, thinking that Kurt was hurt that Puck had been in New York before he had been. Each day they'd spent together had just proved her suspicions more and more though, and it was growing quite clear that the two males in Rachel's life seemed to have major problems with one another.

"Did you hear about the train station?" Kurt asked her, trying his very best not to change any of his expressions, because that would only crack the mask, and he couldn't have that, because then it wouldn't be working properly. And everybody knew how Kurt was about making sure each and every part of him was perfect. "When he attacked Finn for letting you leave?" He wondered.

"What are you _talking _about?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned to him. She wanted to glare, but she didn't dare ruin the mask. She'd probably need to apply another one after this conversation, just to even out her skin after this major amount of stress was applied to her life.

"He tackled Finn to the ground. Mike and Sam had to pull him off of Finn. He was all upset because Finn just let you leave and go to New York," Kurt explained. "And then Finn looked at him and asked if he loved you too, and he just walked away," Kurt concluded.

"That means absolutely nothing." Rachel said briskly. How dare Kurt try to hate Puck for defending Rachel from some jerk who had broken her heart. Puck was right, after all. Finn had just sent her away. Rachel had _wanted _to stay in Lima for a year, but Finn didn't want it that way. He was being selfish and trying to pass it off as a selfless endeavor which would only help Rachel out in the long run. But he'd never asked her for her opinion. He'd told her how it was going to be and that was it. And then he'd used the stupid army as his way to make sure she did as he wanted, just like he always did.

"What are you talking about?" Kurt gasped. Rachel rolled her eyes. Kurt was being just a little melodramatic, and she understood why. Finn was his step-brother and he was clearly hurting because of his decision to end things with Rachel, but, it had been _Finn's _decision after all. Rachel was just as heartbroken, if not more so.

"I mean," Rachel began, ignoring the timer going off besides her, telling her to remove the mask. "That Puck's my friend and he was defending me. He was upset because _I _was upset. Not because he _loves _me," She shook her head. "That's just foolish," She replied.

"You weren't there," Kurt told her, standing up and slapping the timer off. "You didn't see the look in Puck's face when he jumped on Finn. You didn't see how fast he threw those punches," He replied as he started walking towards the door. "You didn't see his face when Finn asked if Puck loved you and you didn't see him enter the train station to use all of his California money to but a ticket to New York instead, just to be with you," Kurt said darkly as he entered the bathroom to take off the mask.

Rachel sat there in a thoughtful, quiet daze for a few moments before she got up herself and walked towards the little kitchen section of the suit and used the sink there to wash off her mask. Kurt was wrong about Puck's feelings. He had to be. There was no other excuse for how he'd ended things with her sophomore year and turned her down during junior year. It was clear that he didn't love her, because Rachel was not one of his cougars and Rachel was not Quinn. There was no way that Puck could like Rachel. It just didn't add up properly.

_Yes, _she decided as she turned off the sink and used a towel to dry off her face. Puck did not have a crush on Rachel, nor did he love her. And even if he did-even if what had happened at the train station had been exactly how Kurt had said and for the exact reasons Kurt believed them to have happened-it did not give Kurt a reason to hate Noah Puckerman. So, no. Noah did not love Rachel. He did not come here out of love, but a long lost friendship instead. He'd come here to assist her, not to hit on her. Kurt was just being foolish.

But...then again...she never had told Santana about the audition. They hadn't even talked before Puck had called her...so-how had Puck known?


	9. Chapter 9: A Memory

**Smash  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 9**

Puck entered the suit around ten o'clock that night with a Victoria's Secret bag on his arm, as well as a Hot Topic bag. Inside each bag were items that he would be gifting to Rachel Berry. Each item was meant to help her with her audition. He'd been very thoughtful on this one day that he'd granted Kurt to have her without any Noah Puckerman interruptions. He'd gone straight to the stores and thought of only one thing-Rachel Berry, the love of his life. Who didn't even realize how much she meant to him. It was just a silly crush really, as long as Rachel did not know about his true feelings.

Then again, there was that moment in the elevator where they'd had their near-kiss, which had only been interrupted by Kurt Hummel himself, who seemed to ruin each and every moment Puck had with the girl of his dreams. Puck honestly didn't understand that one. Kurt didn't love Rachel, clearly, because he loved Blaine Anderson. Kurt was friends with Rachel, but so was Quinn. Mercedes was also her friend. Neither of them felt anything even close to Puck. Was it because Puck was their ex-boyfriend? He doubted it, because Quinn had many reasons to hate him, for that very reason. And Mercedes had made it clear when they'd broken up that he meant _nothing _to her, because he was a bully. Only very recently had she started to change her feelings.

He shook his head as he tried to clear his thoughts. There had to be proof that Rachel and him belonged together. There was...lots of it. He just needed some that he could casually bring up with Rachel to make her realize the truth as well. It seemed that the whole world knew about how they belonged together, except for the girl who seemingly knew everything there was to know in life.

* * *

_"You know, back when we dated, the school gave us a nickname," Rachel said, standing behind him as he stared at the G-list he was being blamed for making. He whirled around and looked at her, an odd expression on his face. "Puckleberry," She explained to him. _

_"What? Well, that could have ruined my rep," He sighed._

_"Actually, what I was trying to say...being with me? It actually sort of **improved **your...rep," She mad an odd face as she said that final word and he had to chuckle. It was so weird hearing that word from her mouth, which usually spoke nothing short of proper english and correct grammar. _

* * *

"Run Joey Run," He muttered, remembering that music video he'd foolishly agreed to make and never asked to watch before the actual showing during Glee Club one day. He sighed as he remembered the day he'd been in her room, helping her make the video.

* * *

_"You wanna make-out?" Puck wondered, sitting there besides her. _

_"I...I can't," She shook her head._

_"Why not?" He asked. He knew the reason. Jesse. They'd just had a near-kiss, and she'd backed away. "If you cheated on that Jesse kid with me, you'd have a bad-girl rep," He told her. She turned to him, a small smile on her face as she shook her head. _

* * *

Then he remembered jumping to her defense when Jesse and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline had tried to mess with her, putting her in a funk that would only show when they went to Regionals. It was clear that they understood that the only threat New Directions posed to them, was in Rachel Berry.

* * *

_"Rachel? What happened?" Finn asked, jumping to his feet as the small brunette entered the room with her head held low, yellow egg yolk dripping from her hair and eggshells settling into it. Her face was streaked with leftover liquid from the running yolk and her mascara which had been left to streak down her face with her tears. _

_"J-j-j-"_

_"That's it," Puck replied, jumping to his feet. "Nobody messes with Rachel but **us," **He said threateningly, making it quite clear that **he **was the only one allowed to mess with Rachel in anyway. Anybody else would have to answer to him. _

_"Let's go," Mike said, following Puck towards the door with Kurt in their tail. Finn seemed to be the only New Directions boy not following. Even silent Matt and handicapped Artie were in their wake. Finn just stood there, staring from to Rachel and to the gang of boys at the door._

_"I'm going to kill that kid-he's **mine," **He informed everybody around him at the door._

* * *

He shook his head as he closed the door behind him and walked towards her room, nodding a brief greeting to Kurt who was sitting on the couch, listening to his iPod while he texted somebody on his iPhone. It seemed as if everybody had an iPhone except for Puck. He ignored that though as he walked towards Rachel's closed door and heard her voice.

"I miss you too," She whispered. She must be talking to her dads. He stayed there, patiently waiting until she was finished. She hadn't called her dads since her arrival to New York, so Puck was fine with giving her this opportunity. "I know why you did it," She sighed. "I understand that you wanted me to make the most of my talent, but why couldn't you have come with me?" She wanted her dads to have followed? That was surprising. "Why'd you have to join the army?" She asked softly and Puck could hear the sadness in her voice. He was sad too. She was talking to Finn. But, that was alright. One phone call meant nothing. "Yeah, uh-huh...I know...okay-call me again, when you can? Alright, yeah...I know..alright, okay...yeah, I love you too, goodbye-and please, stay safe? For me?" She asked. And that's when Puck's heart broke. He dropped the bags and turned around, racing from the hotel room. He couldn't face her just yet.


	10. Chapter 10:A Love Triangle

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 10  
A/N: I'm leaving for California on Tuesday and I most likely will NOT be getting a chance to update until August. I'm really sorry about the short-term hiatus, but I might be able to get one more update before I leave, but I'm not sure. BTW: The names I picked for Puck's sister and mother are Jewish names-I went on a baby name website to make sure I selected some Jewish ones because they make his mother out to be very true to her culture. **

Rachel Berry really did love Finn Hudson. She had since she'd met him when he'd joined Glee club and been the first to befriend her back in sophomore year. She remembered when he'd carried her backpack into the school, across the parking lot for her, to the dismay of his current girlfriend, Quinn Fabray. They'd had their first kiss that year as well, while he was still dating the perfect blonde. That kiss had given Rachel hope, because she realized, in that single moment, that it was possible for her to get the guy and the perfect blonde to end up without the popular football player with the nice-guy persona.

She remembered their first official date as well, when they'd gone bowling-her first time, ever. He'd been begging her to come back to the Glee Club, while everybody has had replaced her with April Rhodes. He'd been the only one to understand her talent and want her to return. They'd kissed again. He'd even admitted that his feelings and their kiss had been real for him, despite Quinn's pregnancy.

They flirted together during class sometimes as well. And she'd come rushing to his defense when the biggest perv in the school had wanted to leak that story about Quinn's pregnancy around. She'd offered up a pair of underwear, allowing proof to his lies-and that had impressed Finn. Rachel had overheard Finn telling picture perfect Quinn that he wished that she was just a little bit more like Rachel. That had added a fresh coat of hope to her longing for a relationship with the talented boy.

Rather than voting for Kurt, as most of the Glee club would have done if his voice hadn't cracked during the first Diva-Off, he'd sworn from the beginning that he would vote for Rachel. He'd even helped her out when she was learning how to work her chair. On top of that all, she'd helped him to get a job so that Quinn would stop insulting him, picking fights with him over the money issue that would result in her parents finding out about the pregnancy. Of course, he was into her looks as well as her personality. He'd admitted that he liked her outfit when she'd changed her appearance because of Kurt's advice. But, he'd followed it up by saying that he preferred how she usually dressed. And, on multiple occasions, she'd caught him staring at her ass or her boobs.

He'd broken up with Quinn, and at first he hadn't wanted to be with Rachel-but he had realized he loved her, eventually. And she'd been the one to deny him. He hadn't given up easily. He'd told her straight out he wouldn't give up that easily.

Then there was when she got sick. That was when she realized he loved her too. It was confirmed at regionals though.

* * *

_"Good luck," She smiled at her co-captain as they waited for their cue to start their Journey-inspired performance for Regionals that year. _

_"I love you," He said back to her in response. Her jaw dropped as he walked towards her and kissed her, long and hard, right before the music began and their performance started. Just as their relationship._

* * *

Then junior year had rolled around and she'd realized, after they'd broken up, that she could love another. She'd fallen in love with Noah Puckerman, and she'd realized it early in the year, when he'd been sent to juvie. She'd easily been the most upset member of New Directions when she news had been delivered. After all, he'd only ever been sweet to her and that had been proven when Santana's bitchiness had gotten to be too much to handle. When she'd claimed that nobody liked Rachel, Puck had stood up to her, saying that he actually did like her. And, he'd asked what was wrong and worked to comfort her when she'd learned about Santana and Finn having sex the previous year. He'd been just as sweet when he'd helped her make Finn jealous by singing that duet with her.

Not to add that he'd defended her to those rude football players, running at them with a guitar when they dared to insult her precious glee club. Sure, he'd been insulted as well, but the look he'd given her beforehand proved that it was mostly because they were making jokes about something she cared so deeply about and due to her performance. And, it had been his guitar used as a weapon and that was his baby. Not to forget that he'd made sure she was prepared for the game, chuckling at her "Let's kick some ass" comment before patting her on the helmet for good luck.

Of course, when he'd sung to Lauren for Valentine's day, she'd been deeply shocked. After all, she had just recently heard Puck tell Finn that he did, in fact, have feelings for Rachel that went deeper than the two being hot Jews. Still, he'd sung for the bitch and she'd been anything but grateful. She'd made him feel like shit afterwards. Rachel had never done that when Puck had sung a song that was so obviously dedicated to her before. She wasn't that rude.

He helped her throw that party as well, when she'd first started to embrace her bad girl side. He'd even made sure everybody came to the party-which had later been revealed to her by Kurt and Mercedes. He also never mocked her idea for original songs, as most of the club had done. He even hugged her when she'd won MVP.

He'd also called her hot, telling her that a nose job would delete her Jewish roots from her face and make her less hot. He even helped Kurt-which was a shock, seeing how they got along now-to organize that Babs-intervention.

He drove her home after the funeral as well. He was always giving her rides. And then there was New York.

* * *

_"You really love him," Puck sighed as he held Rachel's hand as they walked down the street towards their hotel. Rachel could detect some sadness in his voice, but she couldn't place the reason. After all, he had Lauren. As much as she hated it. _

_"Yeah..."She nodded, a smile on her face. "I think I do," She answered. _

_"You want me to help?"_

_"I'm coming here after next year," She explained, looking around Times Square. "Why start something I won't be able to finish?"_

_"He loves you too," He swallowed. "He'd follow you,"_

_"I don't want him to give up any of his dreams for me,"_

_"Do you love him?"_

_"Of course I do!"_

_"Then you deserve to be with him. You should be happy. Let me talk to him."_

_"Thanks, Puck."_

* * *

She sighed as she shook her head, walking from the bedroom in the suite and spotting the fallen bags outside of her door.

"Kurt?" She called.

"Yeah?"

"Did you go shopping?"

"No. Why?"

"There's bags on the floor but-you left the door open?"

"Oh, that? Puck came in a few minutes ago with some shopping bags but then he turned around and ran off, like, right after that."

"Where did he-"

"I don't know and I honestly don't care."

"Ass," She muttered as she grabbed her phone and slipped on a pair of flip-flops, sprinting from the apartment and to the elevator.

"RACHEL!" She didn't pause as Kurt yelled after her. She was too angry and too upset.

_If Puck heard me talking to Finn then I have no right to tell him how I feel,_ she thought as she stepped into the elevator and hurried to the lobby.

_But, if he heard-why'd he run off? Unless...was it possible that Puck felt the same way? _She shook her head as she raced outside.

Just as she reached the street her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked quickly. "Ayla? What's going-I can't understand you! Calm down-let me talk to your mom." Rachel said.

"Hena?" She sighed in relief as she spoke to Puck's mother. "What's going-you're on your way here? Why?" She wondered.

She paused as she listened, her heart dropping.

"Which hospital?" She asked finally. She nodded swiftly before hanging up and taking off running-she had no patience for a cab.


	11. Chapter 11: An Admission

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 11**

Noah Puckerman had made a stupid, foolish mistake in his anger. In his depression from hearing that the girl he loved, loved and cared for another boy, a boy who had turned her down and sent her away as if he had a right to treat her like a cast away that he could throw away when he no longer wanted or needed her. It just wasn't fair that his best friend got to have everything, at all times, no matter how hard Puck worked to earn these things for himself. Finn pretty much got it all handed to him. Puck knew that was a little unfair, but not coming from him. After all, he didn't have a father either, if somebody really looked at his life.

Of course, Puck should have known this was coming. Rachel hadn't wanted the sex shark that was Noah Puckerman to be her first, did she? No, she'd instead asked Finn. And Puck had been foolish at that part as well, assuming that Finn must be cheating on Rachel, because he just thought that Rachel must be waiting for marriage or something honorable like that. No, instead, he'd been wrong in always assuming that he would be the one to take away Rachel's V-card.

But, just as Puck had sung once, he was the only one who had ever done everything it had taken to make Rachel smile. That song had not been for Shelby, not _really. _It had really been for Rachel, because Finn had never done half the amount of stuff that Puck had done to deserve a girl as wonderful and fantastic as she was. And he thought she'd realized it when he'd paused in front of her and smiled during the song. She'd even hugged him from behind after their Sectionals win when she was singing "_We Are Young_". And he'd assumed that their shared smile during the line _"my friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the empire state" _was some kind of reference to their little bathroom romance moments. And her thoughts that he was a drug addict. _  
_

And then Finn had proposed and gone and ruined everything. Rachel had sung that song for _Finn, _leaving Noah Puckerman to stand against a wall with an angry pout on his face showing how jealous, angry, bitter, and upset he was about the entire ordeal. Rachel belonged to him, after all. Not any too-tall football player who wouldn't make it anywhere.

Her face when he said he assumed he'd be either dead or in jail by 2013...or maybe even both...that was face stuck in his head forever and he just wanted to wipe away all memories of the sadness that had been caught up in it at that moment. It was matched only by his own pain and suffering that had filled his face when he'd been forced to hear the news of her engagement to Finn, who was supposed to be his best friend. Who was supposed to understand that he could date Rachel, but never have anything more than that, because she belonged to Puck. And then there was that wink he'd given her after she'd walked down the hallway before her audition for NYADA. She'd smiled at him in a shy, awkward little way. And she'd winked back, secretly of course. After all, they both had their own battles and tests to complete.

He was her true prom date as well. She'd had the anti prom and he'd been the only one to attend because he actually wanted to be with her. Blaine was upset about the no hair-gel rule and Kurt just went where ever Blaine did. That was probably where the entire battle between Kurt and Puck began, but he realized then and there that Puck really did love the talented little Jewish girl. And the best part was that Rachel had been _excited_ to see him attend the anti-prom with her.

She'd been more anxious to see the test result than he was, as well. She wanted him to succeed. She wanted him to pass. She wanted him to know that he was indeed worth it and worth something in general. She'd tried to see the result before anybody, in fact. And that heart he'd flashed her when she'd boarded the train had also included a little message that he'd mouthed to her. He'd said 'we', but he'd really meant "I" because he was the only one who had since he'd met her. Who had in fact felt that way since the day that they actually met. They'd been best friends. They'd always had each other's backs. Somewhere along the way, they'd lost that bond, but it had slowly been coming back because of the Glee club. Maybe that was why he'd mistakenly said that dreadful word that included everybody in the club when he'd mouthed that last message to her as she'd ridden away from him.

So, now that he was in the hospital after getting hit by that motorcycle when he'd raced into the street without paying attention-he was from a small town with barely any traffic. It was not his fault that he didn't concern himself with such casualties as looking both ways before crossing. But, anyways, now that he was stuck in a hospital bed, unsure of what was really happening to him, he whispered those words one more time, with their true meaning said aloud, to nobody at all. Because, the true power of his words did not need to be revealed to anybody. Not just yet, anyways. She needed to realize she didn't need Finn as much as she wanted to believe she did, first. No, for right now, the true power of her words was meant to make himself admit it out loud, to himself, without knowing or thinking that she felt the same.

"Berry, I love you. I have always loved you. I always will love. You're my everything. My entire world, reveals around you, because you're brighter than the sun. You are the brightest star in my entire universe. I love you, my hot little Jewish American Princess."


	12. Chapter 12: A Friendship

**Let Me Be Your Star**  
**A Glee Fan Fiction**  
**Chapter 12  
_A/N: I know you probably all wanted a nice taste of Puckleberry here, but that's not what you're getting. Because this chapter is going to be centered on Rachel and Kurt's friendship because Lea Michele and Chris Colfer each took home a Teen Choice Award for being the best actor/actress in a TV comedy series. _  
**

"He said he loved me. That he's always loved me," Rachel said as soon as she'd entered the suite.

"Did he actually tell you this to your face?" Kurt wondered, raising his eyebrows as he lowered his magazine. "Because if he did, I'd have to admit that I was more than just a little surprised. He doesn't seem the type," He responded.

"Of course he didn't tell me that! Why would he ever tell me that to my face? He never has before," She shook her head and then blushed, lowering her head as she sat down in the arm chair by Kurt's location on the couch. She waited for him to respond, hoping he wouldn't notice the awkwardness she'd just begun.

"Why would he tell you that before?" He asked her, suspicion flooding his usually warm and understanding eyes. She couldn't get out of it now. She'd dug herself in just a little bit too deep.

"Because I took your advice," She mumbled.

"Oh my god," Kurt blurted. "You slept with Puck? _He w_as your first?" He gasped. "Oh, my god...this is major drama-how come I didn't know? Does Finn know? When? Why?" Kurt asked excitedly.

"You're the only person who knows, alright? And it was when Finn and Quinn openly admitted to have been cheating on Sam, you know? I was so upset and you told me that if a guy screwed me over, I should screw his best friend, you know?" She said, burying her face in her hands so she didn't have to face him. "And I'd rather not have everybody in the Glee Club knowing about it, alright? Finn would be pissed," She said, not quite sure why Finn's opinion still mattered to her.

"What's it matter? Sweetie, Finn's in the army now. And you love Puck-you've got, with how you keep going back to you. And you know he loves you, too. Why else would he have not slept with anybody since the Quinn incident?" Kurt wondered.

Rachel knew she should listen to Kurt and believe his words-he was her guy expert, after all-but she just couldn't. No, it wasn't that she couldn't. It was that she didn't want to believe him. She wouldn't allow herself to believe Kurt and his ideas, because she'd believed Finn and that had only gotten her heartbreak.

"He slept with Shelby," Rachel muttered.

"What? Wait-hold up...how did I not hear about this? When the hell did that happen? What did I miss this year? Was I that oblivious? I'm so out of the loop!" Kurt dramatized as he shook his head.

"Right before Sectionals. Quinn was going to use it as blackmail to get Shelby fired, and hopefully get Beth back. But then I talked her out of it. And Shelby and Puck broke it off right after that..."Rachel whispered, shaking her head. This whole nonsense with Puck was just a little too much for her to deal with. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she probably should just date some non-McKInley boy to save herself from the stress.

"He slept with your _mother?" _Kurt made a face.

"Oh my god!" Rachel squealed. "That's disgusting! How can I possibly have slept with him when he slept with my mom?" She asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Rach-you slept with him first. I was laughing because your mother technically stole your man!" Kurt giggled. "I mean, I knew that Puck liked his cougars but I never thought they were really any real competition for how he felt about you. I really thought you were some kind of Jewish goddess in his sick, perverted mind," Kurt shrugged.

"Kurt!" Rachel slapped his arm playfully. "Puck and I have always been just friends. I'm sure whatever feelings he admitted to having were just because of the medication he's on because of his accident." Rachel shook her head. "And I can't have feelings for him, because the asshole slept with my biological mother and that's just wrong and nasty! But, Puck is just my best friend, alright?" Rachel sighed, hating having to explain this to Kurt.

"First of all-I thought what we had was special?" Kurt whined. "Secondly, Puck may be your best friend, but he's your best friend that you can have sex with," He went on. "And thirdly-what freaking accident are you talking about? How come I didn't hear about this _before t_he juicy gossip?" He asked, mock anger taking over his voice. "God, since when do you leave me out of the loop like I'm some kind of has been? I do remember being one of the original five Glee club members with you, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina, back when we were stinking up S_it Down And Rock The Boat," _Kurt glared at her.

"He got hit by a motorcycle but he's fine. I was just there, but I left as soon as I heard him say that. His mom and sister are on their way to see him anyways. Now can we please focus on the more important issues here? Mainly, me and my love troubles?" Rachel sighed.

"Same old Rachel," Kurt smiled at her.

"To know me is to love me," She stuck her tongue out at him and the two giggled. After all, every girl in the world deserved to have a gay best friend, and there was no better pair than Rachel Berry, the star of all things Broadway and Kurt Hummel, the all star Broadway boy.


	13. Chapter 13: A Visit

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 13**

Puck sat in his hospital bed, rolling his eyes at the story his sister, Ayla was telling him. Hena, his mother, had left the room to get herself another coffee and he was actually grateful, because she hadn't stopped fretting since her arrival.

"I thought you came out here to see Rachel?" Ayla asked suddenly, pushing her super curly, jet black curls behind her ears and narrowing her narrow, dark brown, almost black eyes at her brother. To thirteen year old Ayla, Rachel Berry was like a Jewish Super-model. She was her role model, and the awkward little teen longed to be just like the gorgeous, talented Rachel Berry.

"I did," Puck mumbled, not wanting to think about Rachel and her long, toned legs when she danced around during their practice sessions for her audition. He didn't want to remember how good it had felt to wrap his strong, large arms around her tiny, narrow little waist. He wanted to forget about how her hair flowed down her back when she burst out laughing, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling. Most of all, he didn't want to realize that Rachel was not here with him right now.

"Then where is she?" Ayla wondered. "I thought you two were best friends or something? I mean, besides Kurt-by the way-did you see their rendition of _For Good? _It was so good! And I heard they sang it on the actual stage Wicked is performed on every night!" Ayla squealed excitedly. Puck smiled to himself. He had heard rumors about Kurt and Rachel sneaking out the previous year at Nationals to sing on an actual Broadway stage, but he hadn't heard many details. But, he didn't doubt that Rachel would do that-and not get into any trouble for it. They'd probably heard her singing and just assumed she was rehearsing for her own part.

"She's just busy," Puck shrugged. "She'll be here," He lied through his teeth. He hated letting his sister down. Ayla had never actually met Rachel before. She'd seen her at the Jewish Community Center. She'd talked to her on the phone. She'd seen Rachel pass by when she'd come over, but they'd never had a formal meeting. And Ayla was dying to have one. Puck was actually a little excited for the love of his life to meet his sister. If Kurt hadn't had the idea for the Barbra intervention when Rachel had wanted that stupid nose job back in their junior year, he would have introduced her to Ayla, who thought Rachel was utterly perfect and wished to be just like her. Rachel wanted to be to other girls what Barbra was to her, and she was.

"But-she's so sweet and nice and wonderful! I don't understand...if you guys are friends, why isn't she here right now?" Ayla wondered, her big eyes filling with fear that her idol wasn't as wonderful as she'd always assumed.

"Ayla-she knows it's not that serious, alright? She understands that it's just a broken leg. If she didn't know that, she'd be here right now, yelling at the doctors to give me the attention she thought I deserved for my injuries. Alright? Besides all that-she knows how strong I am," He said, his eyes locking into hers.

"Oh, alrigh-oh my GOD!" Ayla squealed with delight as she faced the door. "It's Rachel Berry! It's actually Rachel Berry!" She grinned.

Sure enough, when Puck looked up towards the door way, Rachel was standing there, leaning against the door frame. Her hair was in a sloppy, careless bun and she was wearing a simple pair of black capri yoga pants with hot pink lace at the cuff and he was sure PINK was studded into the back in rhinestones, because that was just her. She had it paired with a hot pink racer back tank top and her make-up was neutral and minimum. He had never seen her look more beautiful. He couldn't help but smile.

"Hey," She smiled at him. "Ayla, right? I've heard so much about you," She grinned at his little sister as she approached and lowered herself onto the foot of his bed besides him.

"I can't believe you're actually Rachel Berry!" Ayla gasped.

"Is that exciting?" Rachel blushed, smiling innocently. Puck shook his head. He'd never seen Rachel act so modest before. It didn't seem right that she acted modest, actually, because she had so much talent and beauty that it was ridiculous to think that she didn't know it herself.

"Exciting? You're like my idol!" Ayla blurted out.

"She's a little obsessed-hey, Ayla? Do you mind giving Rachel and I a little bit of time?" He asked, smiling at his sister in that way that she knew so well.

"YES! Yeah, of course!" She said, jumping to her feet and turning around on her heel before racing away. "I'll tell mom that you need some time to talk to Rachel," she promised as she ran off, leaving Puck to sit there, shaking his head as he laughed and Rachel to look just a bit confused.

"Are you feeling alright?" Rachel asked him slowly, turning to face him just as slowly as she spoke. She winced at the dark black cast on his leg, blank and empty except for a bright red signature that read AYLA with a heart after it. Puck understood why it saddened her. Her own cast probably would have been custom made in a deep, glistening gold number and autographed by her friends and family in neat, black script with long get-well messages to follow. Puck's was a sad illusion of what she could have.

"It doesn't hurt much. What are you doing here, Rach?" Puck sighed. He knew that she'd been here and heard him utter those drastic words that had been his admission of love towards her.

"You're my friend," she whispered, frowning slightly and he could see the hurt flashing in her eyes. "You were in an accident. Why wouldn't I come here to see you?" She wondered as her eyes glistened over with tears. "Don't you want me here, Puck? I don't understand what's happening right now..."She whispered. And Puck froze, hearing that dreadful word come off of her lips. When had Rachel ever called him Puck? He'd always been Noah. She was the only person in the world besides the little family he had that was allowed to call him anything but his silly nickname. And now she was giving that up. It broke his heart even more than hearing her say that she loved Finn.

"Puck?" He whispered. He wasn't sure why they were talking so softly, so slowly-so cautiously, but they were. And it actually seemed to fit the mood, making it all just a little more upsetting. "You never called me Puck," He pointed out, lowering his head. "What changed between us?" He wondered.

"I...I came to see you the day of your accident," She told him, confirming what he already knew to be true. "And I heard you say something...but I don't think it was what you really meant, so I don't know why I'm worrying about it so much. I mean, it's impossible that you would ever feel that way about me, despite my own feelings towards you, because I'm nothing more than-"She went on to say, but Puck froze, realizing what she had said.

"How you feel about me?" He wondered, eyebrows raising. She blushed, lowering her face. "You mean that you love me?" He asked.

"I...I don't re-It doesn't really matter-you don't...does this mean-you meant..."She shook her head and he laughed, loving how she sat there, trying to figure out what was happening and get her thoughts together.

"Berry," He sighed, wishing he had the strength and the energy to pull her closer to him. But, he couldn't. That would let her know about the cracked ribs that he had, and he didn't want to worry his mother with how she'd pay for it or his sister with what was wrong with her brother. He had money-he could take care of everything himself.

"Puck-I mean, Noah," She whispered, shaking her head as she held a hand up to him. "Please, just give me some time to-"

"Wait a second-what day is it? Saturday, right?" He asked. She nodded. "Isn't today your audition?" He wondered. She nodded again. "And it's supposed to be right now?" Once more, she nodded. "Then what are you doing here? Get to your audition now," He ordered her. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "Go to your audition, right this instant, and then come back and tell me all about how much better you were than everybody else and let me know that you got the part, alright?" He asked. She cracked a smile and nodded before standing up and taking off.


	14. Chapter 14:An Audition

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 14**

"Broadway is the air that I breath," Rachel whispered softly to herself as she entered the large theater where her audition would be taking place. She was still in her sweats, and was breezing in late-which would not look good, since she was technically a nobody. She took a deep breath as she tried to remember that this moment alone would stand out among all the other 525,600 minutes that measured the rest of the year.

"Are you here to audition for Mimi?" A tall, thin director with thick, salt and peppered color hair asked. His eyes were a dazzling blue and his features resembled a model. He lowered his square framed glasses and studied her.

"Yes," Rachel said boldly, raising her chin in the air as she approached, dropping her bag down on a chair in the first role as she stepped onto the stage. Really, it was no different from the one she and Kurt had broken into singing _For Good _on a year ago. It was smaller, though, and that should make it all easier and better.

"Name? Age? Song?" The director called, not even bothering to give her his name or any information about him.

"Rachel Berry," She said confidently. She would not allow herself to choke this time. This audition meant too much for her. "I'm 18 years old and I'll be singing _Withou__t You," _She said boldly, especially since she'd just switched the song she would be singing at that exact moment in time. Before right now, she'd been planning on singing _Out Tonight._ She understood that confidence was the key to most auditions and snagging the part about fifty percent of the time when it came to auditioning for something that was totally out of your league. Nobody would expect an eighteen year old girl who had barely gotten into NYADA to snag a part for such an important, challenging vocalist in an off-Broadway performance.

Yet, that was exactly what happened to Rachel Berry as she thanks the director-who's name, she later learned was Rob-and hurried backstage to meet the rest of the cast.

A blur of faces went by her, each resembling the character they were playing in some way. She didn't really remember anybody specifically until she reached the boy who would be playing opposite her, as Roger-the failed guitar play/song writer/singer who had HIV and fell for Mimi after the suicide of his ex-girlfriend April.

"Meet Jesse -our Roger," Rob told Rachel, as her world slowly crashed down around her, burning down deeply to the ground.

"Hello there, Rachel," Jesse smiled at her. Rachel could actually see the resemblances to a vampire that Puck often joked about when taking to her about the jerk. He had that sly, evil grin and that way of studying you as if he just wanted to take a bit and suck the life from you. He was pale and his features were dark. Yes, it wasn't hard for her to see where Puck saw the connection to this talent leech and a thirty blood sucker.

"Jesse," Rachel said, plastering on a fake smile. "So great to see you again," She said with forced cheerfulness that she was sure Jesse could see right though.

"You two have met before?" Rob asked.

"We dated," Rachel said bluntly, her eyes never leaving Jesse's solid and steady, dark eyed gaze. She just wanted to turn around and leave, going to find Puck and finish their previous conversation. But that was pretty much impossible now, with the awkward situation she had been put in.

"Lovely! Now, don't forget that we have auditions for Angel on Monday and we'll start rehershals on Tuesday," Rob said, clapping once for everybody's attention. "Although, there might not be a show at all if I can't find a male with a vocal range high enough to get some of those high notes Angel has..."He said to himself as he shook his head, turning to walk away. That caught Rachel's attention, despite everybody else gathering their things to leave.

"I have a friend who can get the high note in _Defying Gravity," _She blurted out. "He's an excellent singer and an even better dancer and actor," She went on as Rob turned to face her.

"Bring him in on Monday." He nodded once, a small glint of hope in his eyes.

Rachel smiled to herself as she pulled her bag higher onto her shoulder and took out her cell phone, excitedly dialing Kurt's number as she excited the theater. She couldn't wait to tell him the good news. Their first show in New York City, and it would be together, just as their dreams had always been. He would be the Will to her Grace. He was her gay best friend, and nothing could interfere with their life together.

"Rach? What's up? Did you talk to Puck?" Kurt asked, his voice cheerful and full of strain. Rachel sighed. He was probably giving himself another facial, working hard on not creating any cracks in the mask.

"I went to the audition," She blurted out at him. "Puck told me to, when I went to see him," She explained. "And I got the part, but they're having auditions on Monday for Angel-I understand how you feel about drag and all that, but I got you an audition! It's not on Broadway, but it's a start, you know? Please say you'll do it?" She begged.

"You expect me to dress up in drag for a part in a musical-despite it being one of my top ten favorite musicals of all time?" Kurt asked softly. "You want me to put on a dress and a wig, as well as crazy high heels and parade around as if I were a girl for the majority of a show in order to get me start in show business, throwing my morales away?" He asked her. "Rachel Berry, you are one hundred percent crazy if you thought for even one second that," He went on and Rachel winced. "I would turn that offer down!" He laughed.

"You'll do it?" She grinned, her spirits rising.

"On one condition," He said. She sighed. She could have figured that one out for herself. "Get to the hospital and talk to Puck about your feelings for one another, before I have a nervous break down that even my avocado face mask can't help," He teased.

She giggled as she hung up and returned her phone to her purse. She wasn't paying attention, which was probably why she walked straight into a paused Jesse who turned around and gave her that fake, Chesire-Cat like grin that had once made her fallen so in love with him.

"What happened to the fiance?" Jesse wondered, a teasing glint to his voice with a mocking smile to match the entire scene.

"He's joining the army," Rachel said boldly. She was not afraid of Jesse anymore. She harbored no more feelings for him. He did not have any power over her and she refused to let him walk all over her ever again. She was too good for that.

"No wedding?" He faked a pout, pretending to be upset. He was mocking her-playing with her emotions as he always did. But she was onto him this time. She'd spent enough time crying with Puck and ranting to Kurt about Jesse and her feelings towards him. And they'd each told her enough about nots like him that she'd realized that Jesse was not what she wanted, nor what she needed. He was just a scared little kid who wasn't good enough to make it in the big, bad world.

"No," She answered. "Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be that's much more important than anywhere near you," She told him, looking straight into his eyes, so he knew that she was not to be messed with anymore. "I'll see you on Monday-from now on, our relationship is nothing but professional." She informed him as she went to walk away.

"Rachel," He grabbed her arm and she stopped, yanking it from him. She kept walking, but she could still hear his words. "No matter who enters your life-no matter what you choose to believe-no matter what you tell yourself...you will always be mind. It doesn't matter what you delude yourself into thinking or believing, because the facts are the facts. We had something special, and you haven't had any other relationship with the chemistry like ours did. In fact, your only other relationship was with that sad little excuse for a dancer. What was his name? Gil?" Jesse continued to mock her. He was matching each of her steps now.

"You're wrong," She muttered under her breath as they crossed the street. "I've had a relationship that could challenge and successfully beat whatever we once had. And I still happen to have it," She told him as she hurried off, getting lost in the crowd in order to get away from him.


	15. Chapter 15: A Confrontation

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 15**

While Kurt was on the phone with Rachel, he was hiding one small secret from her. He was currently in the hospital, visiting Puck. This would have probably surprised Rachel so much that she would have been given a heart attack, causing her to get a hospital bed right besides Puck's, which would have ruined her cheerfulness at having gotten the part she'd wanted so badly and having found a way for her and Puck to make all of their dreams for their futures come true. A few years from now, girls wouldn't want to have a Will to match their Grace. Instead, they would believe themselves to be Rachel, always looking for their matching Kurt.

"Why'd you do it?" Puck asked as soon as Kurt hung up.

"Why'd I do that?" Kurt frowned, studying the tough boy who had thrown him into dumpster after dumpster behind the school for most of their early high school years. "Why'd I tell her to get her perky little ass over here to tell you how she feels so you can man up and tell her?" He asked, a mocking smile on his face.

"I was nothing but a jerk to you in high school," Puck frowned and Kurt laughed. He could actually see what made Rachel think the self-proclaimed bad ass was so cute, when he got that confused look on his face. "I've still been nothing but a jerk to you," He sighed.

"Becky," Kurt said as way of an answer, even though it was clear by the way Puck's frown deepened that this only confused him a little further. "Senior prom-or, should I say anti-prom? Beer-box crowns? Spiked punch bowls?" He prompted, wondering if his thoughts on Puck's true ways were wrong and it had just been the alcohol consumption that had tainted his decision making on that one particular night. It would actually make more sense that way than in Kurt's nice-guy thoughts.

"She was sad, and she's had a hard life. She deserved to have at least one moment where she knew that somebody thought of her as special," Puck said. "And, honestly, I would have punched anybody right in the fact if they'd tried to take that away from her. She's a sweet kid, and she never lets her circumstances get her down." Puck shrugged, and Kurt could see the slight blush to his cheeks and the sheepish way he smiled as he shook his head, as if trying to clear his conscious from those few nice guy moments that had been revealed to the entire school.

"Still," Kurt said. "You saw in her exactly what I see in you. Somebody who's been given some shitty hands, but still tried to play with the cards they were dealt. Somebody who just needed a chance to prove that they were more than everybody thought they were," Kurt shrugged.

"You're better than I am," Puck said.

"What makes you say that?" Kurt wondered. "I think we're the same. Raised by single parents who just tried to raise us right. Maybe, if the roles had been reversed, I'd be the one in that bed right now." Kurt shrugged.

"Your dad's a great guy...he offered me a job, you know? He said he didn't think a guy like me should be doing such dead end work. At least working at the garage would give me education to move somewhere better than Lima...I didn't take it. Mostly because of Rachel, you know?" Puck asked, shrugging and wincing at the pain it brought. Kurt eyed him suspiscously. He didn't buy that there was only a broken leg with Puck, but he didn't want to pressure him into telling him more than he wanted to.

"Your mom's good too," Kurt said. "She didn't just push you aside like Quinn's parents did. She offered to help Quinn, even though she secretly hated her-Rachel told me...she loves your mom, you know that, right? In fact, I think that might be part of the reason she held onto that thread of hope that one day you'd feel the same way about her, even though you always have," Kurt explained to him.

"I'm not so sure I'm following you there," Puck frowned. "Rachel's got a great mom too, after all," He reasoned.

"Yeah, I know all about what you think of her mom," Kurt teased him and Puck froze, his eyes widening in fear. "I don't judge," Kurt said, holding his hands up in surrender. "After all, I was in love with Finn Hudson and once claimed to being in love with Rachel Berry to get out of dating Mercedes Jones. And I even dated Brittany for a little while, just so my dad would love me as much he loves Finn," Kurt laughed and smiled, relaxing a bit when Puck joined in with him. Kurt didn't regret his decision to come see Puck. It was working out quite nicely, and he knew that with the admissions Puck and Rachel were about to make to one another, it would be worth it in the end. After all, Puck and Rachel loved each other and Rachel was his best friend.

"Hey! Don't go using my girl as a beard," Puck said in mock defense. "She's too amazing for that..."He said, trailing off as he smiled, clearly deep in thought about the wonders that were Rachel Berry.

"I know you slept with her," Kurt blurted out. "I mean...she told me that you were her first, you know, during junior year when Finn and Quinn finally admitted that they were dating and cheating on Sam?" Kurt asked slowly. Puck snickered, chuckling a little bit even. "What?" Kurt frowned, hating being at the butt of a joke.

"Is that the only time she told you about? And that was when she said her first time was?" Puck wondered, still laughing.

"Well...yeah...wasn't that the only time? After the Bieber experience deal and what not? And...wait, what do you mean f_irst time? A_re you trying to tell me that she lied to me a_gain a_bout when her first time was?" Kurt asked, slightly hurt by this. "God, how many times was she planning on trying to keep me from the truth? And why didn't she want me to know?" He asked, a slight whine to his voice that made Puck stop laughing.

"Oh, Kurt, my dear, dear, old friend...there were so many more times than that...and as for her first time? Well, why don't you try sophomore year on for try?" Puck smiled at him. Kurt's jaw dropped in shock and Puck raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Did you really believe her story?' And Kurt felt like an utter idiot for believing any word Rachel had said about her minimum sex.

"Spill-I want all of the times, right now!" Kurt ordered, a fierce look in his glare that was pointed right for Puck. But this only made Puck laugh again.

"Slow down, dude-I'm not Rachel. I don't go and gossip to you about every kiss and every brush of our hands. If you want the details, you can go and ask her, because I'm not big on all that kiss and tell bull shit," He shook his head, rolling his eyes at Kurt's interest for any type of gossip, even when it had nothing to do with him and wouldn't benefit him in any way, shape, or form. That just showed how many girl-like genes Kurt had been given.


	16. Chapter 16: A HookUp

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 16**

Rachel Berry was one hundred percent shocked to see Kurt Hummel sitting besides Noah Puckerman when she entered Noah's hospital room about an hour later, a bag full of chocolate chip muffins-Puck's favorite snack-in her hand. After all, the last time she checked, Kurt and Puck had some sort of rivalry that was mostly due to their jealousy over who was closer to Rachel. Of course, neither would understand that she was just as close to one as the other one, just in very different ways. Noah was her dearest and oldest friend, who she'd always harbored a secret love for, while Kurt was her gay best friend-her missing link.

"What's going on here?" Rachel asked, eyeing each boy carefully, wondering what change had occurred during her few hours of absentee when she'd been busy at her audition. It didn't seem possible that Kurt would randomly show up at his hospital room, just to make amends. And she doubted Puck would have asked for Kurt's presence.

"Just having some guy time, babe," Puck smiled. Rachel barely noticed the little pet name he used for her, but she could tell that she was the only one who was affected by it at all.

"And girl, you've got a lot of explaining to do," Kurt scolded her, standing up slowly as he wagged a finger at her.

"I swear, you must have just gotten about...ten times gayer than you already were," Puck laughed and Kurt mock-glared at him, turning to look at the injured boy, sticking his tongue out at him playfully. "Dude-stop flirting! I thought we covered that I don't play for your team," Puck teased.

"Yeah, we've covered that," Kurt laughed, eyeing Rachel slightly as he shook his head. "And I thought we covered that _I've _already got the love of my life, unlike some people," Kurt smirked.

"Hey!" Puck defended himself. "I'm working on it," He reasoned.

"Work harder!" Kurt encouraged, a large smile on his face as he turned 180 degrees to completely face the bad ass boy with the mohawk that held all of his intimidation. Of course, only Rachel knew the truth about him. That he wasn't as bad as his high school image had made him appear to be for all those years full of his bullying.

"I would if s_omebody _would leave and allow me some time to do so," Puck said, eyeing Rachel in a much different way from Kurt's, but with a slight similarity to it as well.

"Alright, alright!" Kurt sighed. "I get the hint, and I'm leaving," Kurt smiled as he slowly backed out of the room.

"Bye, Kurt," Rachel giggled, loving that Puck had bid Kurt his own farewell at the same time as her. She waved at her best friend and then started to approach the love of her life, ready to finish their previous conversation, that had been interrupted by his want for her to full fill all of her dreams, and never let a single one go without at least a try at it. Rachel loved that about Noah. While Finn had always tried to delay her dreams, Puck worked to make them a reality.

"You're not off so easy," Kurt said, poking his head back in the door. "You've still got lots of explaining to do, missy!" Kurt grinned happily as he disappeared once again, for good this time.

"So," Puck said slowly, drawing the word out to carefully take his time with it. It was quite clear that he was delaying, trying to stall and put off the conversation that was sure to follow soon after wards. "Where were we? Before I sent you away like an inconsiderate ass hole?" He smiled.

"You weren't being an ass!" Rachel giggled. "Anyways, we were discussing what you said, that day when I walked-oh, hell, why are we delaying everything? Noah, I heard you say that you loved me, alright? And honestly, it made me realize that I might just feel the same way. But, I just need to know-I need to hear it, to my face, that you really do feel that way, alright? Because then I can be sure about my own feelings," Rachel said.

"Rach, I love you," Puck said. "I'm not gonna cut any corners, okay? I love you, and I always have," He sighed.

"Rach? You never call me Rach..."She frowned, shaking her head. "Never mind-that's not important...but, what about Quinn? And my mom?" Rachel asked, choking on the last word.

"They were never anything important. Berry, it's always been you. Just you-only you, for as long as I can remember," He went on. "But, you were after Finn, so I just thought that I should move on. And your mom? She was just so much like you that I got carried away and was using her as my outlet to believe that I was actually with you," He admitted.

"'Cause that makes me feel a whole lot better about the entire thing," Rachel giggled.

"Hey, Berry?" Puck asked. "Do me a favor? I've been all sweet and all, telling my feelings to you and admitting that I love you and all that, so, don't you think it's fair that you take a turn in that whole little game now?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at her hopefully. "Well?" He smiled.

"Of course I love you, Noah!" Rachel laughed. "I've loved you since my Bat Mitzvah, back when we were thirteen and you kissed me," Rachel explained. "I've loved you sense you told me about why you couldn't get me a real gift, just yet, but that you'd make it up to me one day. I've always loved you, alright? It's always been you for me, even when I was aimlessly chasing Finn. Even when I was head over heels for Jesse. They were just subsitutions that could never be real, because I thought I couldn't have you," She said.

"Now, Berry, I need you to do me another favor," Puck smiled.

"What's that?" Rachel asked, lowering her head and biting her lip. She was so afraid that this whole thing was going to turn out to be a joke-some horrible, cruel joke that was planned by her high school tormentors.

"Come here and let me kiss you," He smiled at her. She lifted her head and saw him tilt his chin just so. She grinned, leaning in close to him and resting her lips against his, smiling as his arms pulled her closer to him, wrapping her in a tight embrace as his tongue fought for entry into her mouth. When they finally broke apart, she was back in her spot at the foot of the bed, smiling even more than he was. After all, that was one of the best kisses she'd ever had. It's only competition was her other kisses with the tough boy with a sensitive interior.

"I love you-but you need to get home and get some sleep, alright?" He smiled at her. She nodded and stood up, kissing him softly to say goodbye. "Goodnight-I love you," He grinned as she turned and started to walk away. SHe purposely walked slowly, allowing him the view she knew he loved so much. And then something dawned on her.

"What did Kurt mean when he said I had a lot of explaining to do?" She asked, turning around in the doorway.

"Aw, Berry, I could tell you," He smiled at her, his eyes brightening. "But that would probably spoil all the fun," He teased her, a mocking smile on his face. A smile she just couldn't be mad at.


	17. Chapter 17:A MotherSon Moment

**Let Me be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 17**

Puck couldn't believe his luck. He'd gotten the girl. He'd actually ended up with the girl he'd been after since he was just a young, fatherless boy who was naive enough to fall for the other boys' pranks. He'd ended up being with the girl he loved, who had always been there for him through thick and thin. It was a wonder that Rachel had stuck around him for as long as she had, actually, thinking about just how terrible he had been to her. Yet, somehow, Noah Puckerman, the ass hole of McKinley who was destined to be a Lima Loser had graduated and went on to enter NYU-he'd yet to tell Rachel-and gotten the girl of his dreams.

He could still remember his first kiss. _Their _first kiss, which should have bonded them together forever. In a way, it had, but it had waited a little too long. He'd had to see her with other boys. She'd had to deal with his countless women. Yet, he'd always felt that they would belong together-that they would somehow, someway, end up together in the end. And he was fairly certain that she had felt the same way about him.

His family had been going through rough money troubles when he was 13. His sister had been born about 8 years before hand and his father had just left them, two years prior to his Bar Mitzvah. It hadn't even been a big event for him. It had been small, with just his mother and his sister. Nothing compared to Rachel's extravagent event.

When he'd entered her beautifully decorated location, he'd felt strictly out of place in his ill fitting suit that just screamed second hand. He'd gone alone, not bringing Ayla because she hadn't had anything suitable to wear-and he was afraid that she'd want the same as Rachel if she saw that. He didn't want to ever disappoint her. Just as he never wanted to disappoint Rachel, which was why he was there in the first place. He'd brought along his guitar, because his present was simple. He'd learned how to play her favorite song of all time, and was going to perform it for her.

After he'd sung it for her, she'd run into his arms, hugging him tightly, as if to say that this was the best present she could ever receive. He'd started to make excuses for why his present had been so lame, but she wouldn't hear of it. She swore that this was absolutely perfect, more than anything she could ever wish for.

Yet, he'd still told her that one day he would go out and get her a gift that would make up for the sad excuse of a bat mitzvah present. And he was going to come true to that promise. He already had the perfect gift in mind.

"I can't believe my brother's dating _the _Rachel Berry," Ayla sighed as she entered his room with his mother in tow. Puck didn't want to know how Ayla already knew that. He actually was a little proud of himself, that the news was spreading so quickly. Could Rachel have changed her status that fast? Or perhaps she'd passed Ayla in the hall and told her the news? Or maybe Ayla and Rachel already had that secret girl way of communicating, where they could just tell, just by looking at one another? He wasn't sure, but he did know that his sister already knew the truth.

"Noah's dating Rachel?" She smiled. Puck loved it when his mom smiled. She always seemed so tired, so worn out-so much older than she really was, because of her countless jobs and endless shifts. When she smiled, she seemed younger. She actually seemed happy. And Puck always did his best to try and get that smile from her. That was why he was always so ashamed when he messed up. Because of her. "I like Rachel," She said softly, as if speaking to herself.

"I know you do, mom," He smiled at her. "And I do too-a lot," Puck smiled, this time to himself.

"She's a nice girl. I'm glad you've finally decided to find yourself a nice, Jewish girl-unlike that blonde tramp you brought around a few years ago. Although, even she was nice compared to those...what do you kids call them? Panthers?" Hena asked.

"Cougars mom-and Quinn wasn't a tramp. She and Rachel are friends, mom," Puck said, turning to face her. "Besides that, I agree-Rachel is much better than all of them. She's...different, but in a good way. But, it's good I made those past mistakes, because now I can really appreciate her, you know?" Puck asked his mother.

"I've raised a good boy," she smiled, reaching out and tapping him on the head. "There's a good head on your shoulders and a kinda heart in that chest," She said proudly. "How did you turn out so well?" She wondered, sighing, as if it was clear to her that her parenting hadn't been as wonderful as Puck and Ayla made it seem to be. Puck hated it that his mom didn't realize just how wonderful of a mother she'd been, given her circumstances.

"Mom, you did a great job raising me-and Ayla," Puck promised her, looking straight into her eyes. "I saw how hard you had to work because dad was a jerk, and I realized that I would never make the woman I loved have to do that. That's how I turned out so well. And Ayla turned out so well because she had the world's best role model to look up to. She had you. And yeah, I supplied her with Rachel as well, but it was you, mom-you made it all better for her. You were always there for us when we needed somebody, too. You went without a lot, just so we didn't have to know how bad the money was, and I know that." Puck told her.

"Such a good boy," Hena smiled. "Rachel's a nice influence on you," She nodded. Puck smiled.

No matter what, his humble mother was not going to take all of the credit for how her two teenagers turned out to be so wonderful. She would always push the blame onto somebody else, because she didn't realize how amazing she truly was.


	18. Chapter 18: A Confession

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 18**

"Rachel Barbra Berry, you are in _so _much trouble! I can not _believe _how much you've been hiding from me!" Kurt exclaimed as soon as Rachel entered her suite. "I mean, I thought your first time was with Puck during junior year and that was your _only _time with Puck, but apparently I was wrong because _you _lied to me-right to my face! Do you know how insulted and offended I feel? God, I thought I was your _best _friend, but Puck knows more about you than I do, and that just doesn't seem right, if I'm being one hundred percent honest-something _you _clearly aren't capable of!" Kurt ranted. His words were harsh, but there was a slight hint of teasing to his voice.

"I was afraid you'd think I was a slut," Rachel shrugged as she dropped her bag onto the arm chair and then fell into it herself.

"Well? Are you going to tell me what happened?" Kurt asked, a smile filling his face and laughter filling his voice. Soon enough, Rachel was laughing as well. "Now-spill!" He commanded.

"Noah and I slept together for the first time sophomore year, right after Jesse and the whole egg incident..."Rachel admitted softly. "I was upset and in a funk, and he was so sweet and there...and I don't know...it just sort of happened, while we were rehearsing for the funk number, you know?" She asked.

"There's more to it," Kurt nodded knowingly.

Rachel hated that Kurt could read her so well. It pained her to know that it was near impossible for her to hide anything from him, especially when he was in this mode, where he needed to know every little detail of her life and was worried that she would start to hide things. That was when it was really scary, talking to him like this. She sighed, hesitating for a minute while thinking how best to let this next piece of news spill.

"And then after the funk number, when he gave me a ride home...in his truck..."Rachel said, biting her bottom lip to contain the smile that was fighting to take over her face at the remembrance of her and Puck's sex life.

"Continue," Kurt said, his face showing no emotion at all. Rachel _despised i_t when he did that. It was as if he was saving all judgement for later and it just killed her. He was her best friend and she didn't want him thinking poorly of her. There was a reason why she hadn't wanted to tell him, after all.

"And then junior year we _almost s_lept together, when I found out about Santana and Finn, but we both realized there was no reason to be upset, because Finn didn't know about Puck and I. Then, when I started to tell Finn and he broke up with me..."Rachel trailed off, not sure if she wanted to say those fatal words to Finn's step-brother, who had such a good relationship with him. She sighed as she looked away, not finishing her sentence.

"You guys slept together right after the break-up?" Kurt asked, his voice blank but his face filled with shock.

Rachel nodded. "And then when Finn and Quinn admitted to having been cheating," Rachel informed Kurt. "And that was it, really-_I swear!" _She promised. "We haven't slept together since junior year, alright? I never actually cheated on Finn, understand?" Rachel said, wanting to make the truth of the matter very clear to Kurt. She trusted him with her life, but she didn't want to risk him letting something spill, thinking it innocent, and then having it get back to Finn. After all, everybody knew that the world was just as obsessed with who was having sex as high schoolers were.

"I trust you," Kurt told her. "Now-here's my real question. If Puck slept with you years before you and Finn slept together, why did he tell Finn that he'd always thought he would be the one to take your virginity?" Kurt asked, blushing on the last word.

"Oh, he didn't mean it that way," Rachel giggled. "He meant it like...well, he was saying that he always thought it was him who did that, you know? Because, well, it was," Rachel shrugged. Kurt nodded, understanding filling his eyes. "And I know, maybe I should have told Finn about Puck, but I was afraid he'd leave me, after what happened with Quinn," She explained.

"I understand," Kurt nodded. "He was always afraid you'd leave him for Puck, actually. The entire glee club knew that there was something going on between you guys. We used to have pools, betting on how long it would take you to own up to your feelings and get together. We'd bet on who would be the first one to break. Brittany usually won-she really understood you guys," He went on to explain. "Probably because she wanted Puckleberry so badly," He shrugged.

"Well, did anybody bet we'd wait until after graduation?" Rachel asked.

"What? No, of course not. Finn found out about the bets and flipped out on us, so we stop-wait a second. What does that mean? Puckleberry's back together? No-no, way!" He exclaimed.

"We just got together...well, sort of...I mean...we said we loved each other. And we kissed. And he told me he loved me before I left but...oh my god, I have no clue where we stand right now!" Rachel said, her eyes widening in fear. "What if I think we're together and we aren't?" She panicked.

"Well, he loves you. Therefore, he wants to be with you. So, therefore, next time you see him, get bold and grow some balls and ask him where the two of you stand, alright? I know how he feels about you. He really cares and he totally loves you. So, stop worrying that he doesn't want to be with you, because he does. You're his Jewish American Princess, and it kills him, in a way, because he's not sure he can maintain that life style you've had, but he doesn't want to give you up because he's been dealt with shitty economic deals," He explained.

"I would never expect him-"Rachel began to protest.

"Rach-I know that. He knows that. You know that. But he _wants to_ spoil you and treat you like a princess-_his _princess. He just doesn't know if he can," Kurt said.

"He's always made me feel like I was special," Rachel said softly. "He's always done that, because with the simple way he looks at me-the way he talks to me..."She trailed off. "It made me feel like I was just so much more. I've always known that I was his princess, in a way," She shrugged. And it was true. In her heart, she'd always been his hot little Jewish-American princess.


	19. Chapter 19:A Surprise

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 19  
A/N: Let's play a game! See if you can guess who Puck's little visitor is in this chapter. Whoever guesses correctly first gets a shout out!**

For once in his life, Noah Puckerman was nothing but happy. He should have listened to those people who told him spend his life with people who allowed him to be himself rather than people he had to impress years ago. Then he would have focused solely on ending up with Rachel Berry. And he would have been happy since...well, he would have always been happy. For the first time ever, Noah didn't feel like a Lima loser. In fact, he felt like he was going to make something of his life. He was going to be somebody and make his mother proud. And it was all because of Rachel.

If somebody as grand and incredible as her could love him, then there had to be some good in him. There just had to be. Rachel's love for him was a sign that he wasn't what everybody had called him in school. He was better than that. He wasn't just a mindless, tactless bully who didn't care for anybody other than himself. Like his Glee songs from sophomore year to junior year had shown-as well as his _Mean _duet with Coach Bieste-he was better than that ass hole who was always throwing kids into dumpsters just for laughs.

Even after the slushy facials-and unlike the rumors that had been started, Puck had not been the one to start that tradition-and the port-a-potty tipping adventures that he and the other jocks would do to the losers, Puck was never really that big of a jerk who didn't care about other people and their feelings. That wasn't him. He actually was probably the biggest, inner geek in the world. He took a music theory class, which had taught him to write music. He was a member of the drama and performing arts classes that Rachel attended. He even took music history and music appreciation. He was a big music nerd, and he wouldn't deny that. After all, it had helped him to get closer to Rachel.

When people asked him who really started the slushy facials, though, he would lie through his teeth in order to protect his best friend, Finn Hudson. Especially since Finn had only tripped before soaking Tina Cohen-Chang with a bright red, ice cold pile of slush one day after school when the team had gotten some before practice. It had gotten a nice laugh from the football team, and one day, David Karofsky went off and purposely slushied Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel with a pale blue pile of ice. Puck's first attack had been on Rachel, and it had been a dare. He hadn't wanted to do it, but he didn't want to be mocked and lose his friends that he'd worked hard to get. So, he'd gone out and bought a grape slushy, sighing and silently apologizing to Rachel with his eyes before soaking her with it. He'd purposely only soaked her white knee socks and black flats though, in order to spare her outfit and hair.

But, even when Rachel had been soaked from head to toe in slushies each and ever day-Puck was the only one allowed to slushy her, of course. Everybody knew that. He'd given them swift warnings to not try and attack the girl with the cold drinks, or they'd answer to him. But even when Puck had done that to her every day of her high school life-until junior year, of course-she never stopped giving him that smile and that look that just seemed to tell him that she still believed he was deeper than that, just a little bit. Even if he didn't want his image to show it.

Rachel never let his bad reputation tell her that her Noah, her sweet, loving Noah, was gone. She didn't believe that he'd turned into this deep, dark image of a bad ass named Puck. She knew Noah was still down there, somewhere, hiding deep down under Puck's tough guy exterior.

Noah loved that Rachel never let onto their little secret though. Sure, there were times when she worked hard to get the Noah side to be revealed, but she never pushed him to get rid of Puck. She never asked for him to tell the rest of the school that Puck was just an act-a character created by Noah in order to protect himself, and, in theory, prevent Rachel from pain from anybody other than him. Because if somebody else hurt her, she wouldn't understand that they cared, deep down.

He'd failed this plan though, because she'd been hurt by lots of people who weren't him.

Santana and Quinn with their verbal insults towards her, constantly trying to bring the talented star down. Mercedes and Kurt with their bitter jealousy that made Rachel want to give up on Glee entirely. Jesse and Finn Hudson, who had broken her hearts in different ways, multiple times. Mr. Shue, trying to hide Rachel's talent from the world because his Broadway dream had never been a reality, or even close to one for him. Blaine Anderson hurt her as well, using her as his beard to reveal that he was, indefinitely, gay. Her own mother had hurt her, choosing to raise Puck's own child rather than Rachel. She didn't want a teenager, she wanted a baby girl. She'd been hurt by Carmen Tibbedeux as well, when she'd tried to make Rachel believe that her talent wasn't enough to get her into NYADA, because she'd forgotten the words, something that was so rare for her to do.

It seemed as if he'd failed her on countless levels when it had come to being her knight in shining armor, but she never let any disappointment she might have had show through.

"What the hell, Puckerman! Seriously? You disappear and head off to New York to live with _Rachel Berry _before getting hit by a motorcycle? You take off without any explanation at all and wind up in a hospital, and then I find out that you're _dating _her? Are you freaking insane? Are you out of your mind? What the hell is wrong with you!" A bitter, angry voice began to rant from the doorway. Puck looked up and was surprised to spot the one person he'd never expect to see in his hospital bed, in New York City, standing there.


	20. Chapter 20:A Facebook Post

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 20  
_A/N: The next chapter will announce the winner of the contest. But I've only gotten one response so..._**

"There's something else I need to tell you," Rachel announced as she entered the bedroom of her suite. Kurt was already wrapped in his blankets, his iPhone lighting up the room. "About my part," She said as she threw her covers back to climb into bed. This day had seemed impossibly long and she couldn't wait to just close her eyes and let sleep take over.

"What's up, Diva?" Kurt wondered as Rachel used her own iPhone to check out her Facebook page.

"Jesse's playing Roger," She blurted out, lowering her head so she didn't have to actually see Kurt's reaction to this news. If anybody had a reason to hate Jesse, besides herself, it was probably Kurt.

"Jesse St. James? Vocal Adrenaline star-turned-coach who tried to take over _our_ Glee club? The ex-boyfriend from sophomore and junior year? The boy who supposedly took your virginity, even though we all know what total bull shit that was?" Kurt asked, his voice blank. "Are we talking about that Jesse?" He asked.

Rachel sighed, staring at her multiple notifications. She wasn't sure how best to respond to Kurt's questions, actually, and she knew that delaying her answer would just cause him to keep up with his rants. She decided to hesitate for a moment longer, giving him time to catch his breath before starting up again. She clicked her first notification, shocked to see that it was from Brittany Pierce, a former Glee club member.

**Brittany .S. Pierce-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
I just heard that Pucklberry had a reunion! I'm so excited that my favorite couples back together-besides Brittana of course (That's Santana and me!)**

Rachel turned, instantly regretting starting this conversation. She needed to yell at Kurt now, for breaking his promise to her. But Kurt had bigger concerns, apparently.

"The same Jesse who was kicked out of college because he didn't know he had to go to class? He just assumed that he'd have somebody sent to classes for him to do his work, like they did at Carmel?" Kurt wondered. "Please tell me that I'm wrong and this is some other Jesse kid that I just can't remember any details about," He said coldly.

"Yes, of course it's that Jesse!" Rachel exclaimed. "God, what other Jesse would it be? How many Jesse's do we know that are so involved in theater and performance?" She asked, rolling her eyes at her supposed best friend, who was supposed to be just as common sense smart as she was. Sure, she and Mike Chang had been the top two students of their senior class, but Kurt had been the tenth, finishing off the top ten. It didn't add up that he was being so stupid now.

She continued to wait for his answer as she checker her next wall post.

**Mercedes Jones-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
Girl you're with Puckerman? Bout time you two had your reunion-although I'm a little upset it didn't happen before graduation, just so I could have won that pool...even though everybody probably forgot I made that bet back in sophomore year! **

Rachel knew that a smart, regular person would confront Kurt immediately, but she was too angry. So, she continued to check her notifications.

**Artie Abrams-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
The infamous Jewish couple's back together? Finally!**

**Jacob Israel-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
If you were looking for a rebound from Finn, why wouldn't you ask me? Especially if you were looking for a Jewish companion? **

**Tina Cohen-Chang-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
I'm so happy for you guys! Heard it was a mega sweet story-can't wait for the details! **

**Mike Chang Jr.-Rachel Barbra Berry:  
Hey Legs, congrats on the new beau. Tell my buddy that if he messes this up, he's gonna have a lot of people to answer to though-starting with me!**

Rachel found herself giggling at Mike's post. Somehow the two brains of the Glee Club had become good, close friends. They'd practically become best friends, what with Rachel making him ninja cookies whenever the mood struck her to bake and him defending her whenever Noah wasn't around in the hallways. She had to comment on that one.

**Rachel Barbra Berry: Stop calling me that sexist name!  
Mike Chang Jr: Sexy?  
Rachel Barbra Berry: I don't need Tina going all psycho ninja on my ass!  
Tina Cohen-Chang: I'd be going all ninja on his ass, Rach! And he'd have Puck on it too  
Mike Chang Jr: Can I call you Shawty?  
Rachel Barbra Berry: Ganster isn't a good look for you  
Mike Chang Jr.: Can I have no fun?**

Rachel wasn't permitted to answer though, because Kurt had found his voice again.

"So Jesse St. James of the St. Dick clan is playing opposite you in this musical and you didn't think it was important to mention that to me? Or Puck? Or anybody? When the hell were you going to let us know?" Kurt asked. "When I was at the audition and he made another gay boy comment that made me want to kick his sorry ass? And what about Puck? When he saw the show?" Kurt ranted.

"I don't want Puck to know at all, alright?" Rachel pleaded. "I don't want to mess anything up just yet. Let me tell him when I'm ready. You know how he gets," Rachel explained.

"Fine-but if you don't tell him before opening night, I will," Kurt warned. Rachel knew that he was serious, and that was the scary part. "I keep a lot of promises for you, Rach, and most of them can get me into a lot of trouble. But when you're asking me to hide something so serious from Noah Puckerman and risk him never knowing, you've gone a little too far. He could kill me in about fifty different ways and make it look like an accident. Twenty five of those ways and he could make himself look innocent," Kurt said.

"Speaking of kept promises," Rachel said slowly. "How is it that my Facebook wall is flooding with posts form McKInley students about Puck and I getting together? I haven't read them all yet, but I'v read enough. I thought you promised you wouldn't say anything until I talked to Puck to make sure we both agreed with where we stood," Rachel glared at him.

Kurt held up his hands, as if to plead guilty. "You caught me. I just couldn't help myself. It was such juicy gossip-and besides that, everybody knows that Puck's just dying to get in your pants. Nobody knows he already has," Kurt promised her. "I'm not that evil. But everybody does understand that he's wanted to be your boyfriend again since you dumped him back in sophomore year," He shrugged carelessly. "Which was totally stupid because you two could have been the IT couple! You would have knocked blonde and blonder from their podium and taken over. You guys were two insanely good looking Jews, after all," Kurt went on.

"And the most cliche-d relationship in the world," Rachel sighed, tossing her phone onto the nightstand. "The good girl and the bad boy? And two Jewish teens?" She wondered as she snapped off the light. "No wonder everybody was waiting for us to date," She rolled her eyes as she fell back against the pillows. She rolled over, putting her back to Kurt as she closed her eyes, ready to allow sleep to take over and dreams of Noah to fill her head.

"Not everybody," Kurt whispered. Although volume didn't matter, because Rachel was out as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	21. Chapter 21:A Family Reunion

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fan Fiction  
Chapter 21  
_A/N: To be fair about the contest, not many people would know this character exists. According the JEWCY and the Glee Wikia, there's a new character being introduced who will be taking over Puck's bad boy place at McKinley. And that was who the character was. Warning: I'm making up a lot of details on him. There isn't much to go on._  
**

"Jake?" Puck asked, his eyes growing wide at the arrival of his younger, half-brother appearing in the doorway of his hospital room. "What the hell are you doing here?" He whispered harshly. Jake was older than Ayla, but younger than Puck. He would be a freshman in this upcoming school year and lived in Lima Heights. There was only one person, outside of Puck's family, who knew about him, and that was Santana. Jake had been the main reason for the divorce between Puck's parents. When his mother had found out about Jake, shortly after Ayla's birth, she'd thrown him out.

Due to this, Ayla and her mother both hated Jake. Puck hated him as well, for hurting his mother. But he really couldn't hate Jake too much, because they were brothers after all. Family meant a lot to Puck.

"Dad found out about the accident. Your mom called him when she found out about the ribs. She said she didn't have enough money, and dad still had to help out, because you're his son and all that," Jake shrugged, running a hand through his thick, coarse, dark brown curls that were the same style and texture as Puck's own hair. The only difference was their choice on hair cuts. Everything else, from their eyes to their coloring to their smiles were almost identical.

"Like he's got the money?" Puck rolled his eyes. "She's crazy for thinking that. I had to pay his rent a few weeks ago," Puck replied bitterly. "It's good I didn't want to go to California, or I would have been screwed. It's a wonder I still have as much as I do, or I never would have come to see Rachel," Puck said.

"Dad made you pay his rent?" Jake frowned. "That doesn't make sense...he's got lots of money," Jake said slowly.

"From what? The brewery's about to close, according to him," Puck frowned, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows. "I just don't understand this," Puck sighed. "Don't tell me he ripped me off!" Puck was angry now.

"Dude, do you really think I understand dad's mind? Neither of us has ever been very good at that. We might be a lot like him, but our minds don't exactly work the same way, you know?" Jake asked, shaking his head as he leaned against the doorframe, still not fully entering the room.

"Never say I'm like dad," Puck said softly, the words harsh and full of hate. "I despise him, and being like him only implies that I'm going to end up hurting Rachel-and I'd never do that. I love her. I've always loved her. I always will. And I will never cheat on her. Let's just make sure you understand that, real clear, okay? Because I don't want anybody thinking I'm like that asshole I have to call dad," Puck said, glaring at his brother.

"Nice to know you feel that way about the guy paying your hospital fees," Noah Puckerman senior said sarcastically.

"It's costing you about five hundred dollars, right? Good, that's what you owe me from your rent," Puck glared at him. "Since it's clear you don't exactly need it, after all," He add on bitterly.

"Puck-"Jake began, trying to stop the fight that was sure to happen between Noah and his father. After all, the two were always fighting. It was lucky for Jake that Noah had wanted to stay with his mother and stay far away from his father. It gave him some peace, and allowed him to be the favorite in somebody's eyes.

"Do you want me to be fair to him? My mom had to struggle for years to raise my sister and me, because of this asshole who wouldn't fork over a decent child support check, despite him obviously having enough money to do so. He didn't care about his kids and the fact that I had to give up on my traditions because I couldn't have a freaking bar bitzvah. He didn't notice that Ayla's was the best I could manage with my shitty savings from that dead end job cleaning freaking pools. He didn't know that I was pretty much selling myself out to get money to make sure Ayla didn't notice all the money troubles-or maybe he did, and just didn't care. And you didn't either Jake, because he cared about you!" Puck snapped.

All of his anger was coming out now. All of the pent up feelings he'd felt towards his father were finally being revealed.

"And what the hell does it matter that I'm dating Rachel?" Puck asked, turning his anger on Jake, who he'd always been slightly jealous of. Of course, Jake had always been jealous of Puck as well, so it evened out between the brothers.

"Because she's probably the single handed hottest Jew at the JCC," Jake smirked at him, that bad-ass smirk that Puck had mastered through his rebel years at high school. "And there's just something about crazy that seems like it'd be pretty sexy in the sack," He went on.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Puck snapped, lunging forward and wincing in pain a little.

"Oh? So it's true what they're saying, then? The bad ass, almighty, McKinley high rebel has finally fallen in love? You've got to be kidding me," Jake rolled his eyes.

"I would _never _joked about Rachel. Get that through your narrow minded, one way head. You're an idiot, okay? You're nothing but scum and the way you just talked about Rachel shows that. Now, get out of my hospital room before I freaking heal and kick your sorry ass." Puck glared. "And yours too, you good for nothing, low life excuse for a father," He said, glaring at his father.


	22. Chapter 22: A Revelation

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 22**

"Are you sure that this is okay? I mean, I'm not even lined up to go to NYADA, and I thought that Carmen lined up this audition for you?" Kurt wondered as he and Rachel entered the theater.

"Oh, shut up, will you? You should be going to NYADA, with that incredible audition you gave. And I feel totally guilty about it. Maybe if I hadn't convinced her to come see us at Nationals, she wouldn't have let me in and then you could have had my spot. Damn, how do you now hate me?" She asked him as they approached the stage.

"How could I hate you? You're my best friend," Kurt sighed. "You're my Grace and I'm your Will. I thought we had this all figured out? We're even going to have a TV series about us one day, and I'm going to be played by the young, terribly handsome Chris Colfer while that beautiful Lea Michele girl is going to try and be half as great as you are," He explained with a smile that quickly faded when he spotted the boy standing on the stage.

"Did you think I was kidding about Jesse being in the cast? Because you should know me well enough to know that I wouldn't lie about something like that," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I was hoping he'd suffer some sort of terrible injury that made it impossible for him to perform. Apparently wishing at 11:11 doesn't give you the required result." Kurt shrugged, dropping his bag besides Rachel's on a chair. "Better add that one to the list, right after dandelions," He rolled his eyes and Rachel giggled as they approached the director.

"Rob," She said cheerfully as she stood besides him. He turned to face her. "This is my friend-Kurt Hummel-the boy I told you about who can-"

"Reach the high note in _Defying Gravity?" _Rob asked with a smile. "Well, let's hear him sing something-he looks utterly perfect for the part," He shrugged.

Kurt smiled proudly as he took his place on the stage and started to sing _Today For You _from the musical, giving a performance that rivaled his _Boy Next Door _audition.

"He's perfect, right?" Rachel asked as soon as Kurt finished.

"You've got the part," Rob nodded. "Alright, well, rehearsals will start tomorrow-all of the information has been emailed to you all, so I'll see you then," He said.

"That was easier than I expected," Kurt said, slightly amazed as he grabbed his bag and followed Rachel from the theater. "What are we going to do for the-"

"I hope you something to put out the fire that's sure to come from that walking fire hazard you've just added to our musical," A cold, harsh voice called from behind them.

Now, if they were back in Lima, it could have been a large population of people rudely insulting Kurt for being gay. Any single person in that town would have something negative to say about his clothing. And there would be many comments that were thrown towards him as he walked with his head held high, trying his best to ignore them, that would only result in him returning home, ready to be anywhere else in the world.

In New York City, there were very few people who could be making such harsh, rude comments about the tall, slender boy in the fitted black slacks and the simple white tee shirt he wore under a black casual blazer that was carefully tailored to show off just how thin he really was.

"What do you want, Jesse?" Rachel asked, turning around to face him.

Honestly, she wasn't exactly sure what had first attracted him to her, other than his talent and the name he'd made for himself at such a young age. He was pale, with a slightly wide face that didn't match the rest of his build. His hair was too dark compared to his skin tone, as were his eyes. And all of his features were too sharp, causing him to look some sort of fictional monster that only existed in a person's worst nightmares.

There were no special features about him that made him stand out, as Finn Hudson's dopeyness did, making him seem so much cuter than he really was-Finn actually tended to look s_tupid _most of the time. There was nothing that brought attention right to him, like Blaine Anderson did with his perfectly styled hair and carefully structured face. Unlike Mike Chang, he did not have perfectly developed abs. He didn't have the nicely proportioned features that Kurt had and he most definitely did not have Artie Abrams a-dork-able appearance that made hearts melt.

And he most definitely did not have the bad-boy, bad-ass, school rebel-without-a-cause thing going for him. He was just a spoiled, rich kid living in a small town who was flourished with talent that had been carefully developed through years of training. Puck managed to have that same talent, without any training. He also had a drive that was caused by his terrible beginning. And, unlike Jesse, Puck's family was full of love, rather than cash.

"I thought we already went over this? I want what's rightfully mine," He shrugged.

Even his voice was obnoxious! It was too low, too slow, and not deep enough for his size and age. It was as if he was trying out of his way to be sexy, and it was failing him.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Kurt asked.

"Your friends don't know that you belong to me?" Jesse asked.

"I don't belong to anybody, Jesse," Rachel sighed. "I'm not property that can be sold or won or possessed. I'm a person-a human being-with feelings and rights and choices. And right now I'm choosing to walk away from you and not communicate with you any longer, because you are nothing but a jerk who I want nothing to do with." She said as she hooked arms with Kurt and started walking away.

"Is this the new relationship you were talking about with all the chemistry? Because, in case you've yet to notice, he happens to be the very definition of the word _gay," _Jesse taunted.

"Actually, my new boyfriend could probably kick your ass. In fact, you know him. He graduated with me this year. Perhaps you remember him-Noah Puckerman?" Rachel asked casually over her shoulder.

"Puck?" Jesse asked, his face slowly growing pale as his eyes filled with panic.

After all, Rachel hadn't really expected Jesse to forget about Puck. It wasn't exactly easy for a guy to forget about the person who he'd known was constantly trying to steal his girlfriend. How could Jesse forget about the guy who was trying to tell Rachel that she could do-and deserved-so much better than Jesse St. James?

And, besides that, how could any student at McKinley-even if they were only there for a short time-forget about the big, bad, beyond scary boy with the perfectly structured mohawk? Noah Puckerman wasn't exactly forgettable in any sense of the word, and Rachel had been hoping that Jesse played by the same rules as most boys did.

Jesse had always been jealous of Puck. He had always feared Rachel's close bond to the boy. And, Rachel knew, that any boy who was faced with a level of jealousy that was so extreme, would never forget it.

Especially when he was constantly trying to work his magic and get the girl back into what he believed was her rightful place. His arm-acting as his trophy girlfriend who would later become the beautiful wife who didn't dare try and become more famous that him.

Because that was what really attracted Jesse to Rachel. The fear that one day she would grow to realize just how talented she was and realize that she was meant for so many bigger and better things than she was getting. He was terrified at the idea of Rachel rising to fame and surpassing his own name. Because, no matter how much talent Jesse had had in Carmel, back in Ohio, he didn't have the stage presence that Rachel Berry managed to have, and when it came to musical theater, it was all about the stage presence.

After all, their second duet together had been made great by her ability to pull focus-and that had been when they'd shared their first kiss, Jesse suddenly acting as if he wanted nothing more than to be with Rachel.

And that had been when Rachel had decided that things with Finn were not going to work out, and she needed a new way to make Noah Puckerman jealous. And Jesse seemed like the perfect actor for the part.

Apparently, she hadn't known what the long term side affects of that arrangement would be, or she never would have let him into her life.


	23. Chapter 23: A Secret Revealed

**_Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 23_**

"Hey, baby," Rachel smiled, walking into Puck's hospital room, sitting down in the chair besides his bed. "How ya feeling?" She asked him.

"I'd feel better if you were over here," He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively as he tapped the thin spot on the bed that was next to him. Rachel rolled her eyes, but stood up and walked towards him, lying down besides him, allowing him to wrap an arm around her as she cuddled close to him, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm getting out on Friday," He said brightly to her, leaning over to kiss her back, a single peck on the cheek.

"That's great!" She said happily, smiling up at him. "Hey, listen-can I ask you something?" She wondered, propping herself up into a sitting position so she could look at him.

"Yeah, anything," He grinned at her. Rachel shook her head, laughing softly at how happy he seemed to get just by her visiting him. He'd been in the hospital for just over a week now-it was the Monday after Kurt had gotten his part-and every single time Rachel had shown up to see him, he'd had a brighter smile and a better outlook on his condition. And his smile never faltered or wavered during her entire visit. His mother had left the previous morning with his sister, heading back to Ohio, so now she and Kurt were his only visitors. But he didn't let anything get him down.

"Did Finn tell you about...me, after it happened?" She wondered, her voice soft and low as she blurted out the question that had been bothering her for months, even more so in the past few weeks since they'd gotten together once again. It was the beginning of July now, and Rachel and Kurt had been spending their days at rehearsals, with Puck, and having make-shift spa days in their hotel room.

"After you slept with him? He never stopped talking about. Rachel, he was always going on about you, and how he couldn't believe you were better than Santana when it was only your first time-it took a lot of will power on my part not to laugh hysterically at the fact that he thought you'd been a virgin before he slept with you, and I do have to admit that I'm a little hurt that only Kurt's allowed to know that I was really the one to take your virginity," Puck told her, faking a stern voice.

"And...what did you say to him? When he was talking about? What did you think?" She asked, her voice getting even softer and realization flooding his eyes. He smirked at her as he used the arm closest to her to pull her back into his embrace, resting her head on his chest as he stroked her hair, playing with the strands towards the end, curling them around his finger.

"I wanted to punch him in the fact. I had to do anything I could to give myself something to do, just so I wasn't idly standing by when he was talking about it. I wanted to shove him against a locker and tell him that he wasn't the one who took your virginity-and that it was sick that he was comparing you to Santana," He said, his voice a low, hollow sounding sound that was unfamiliar to Rachel. "I wanted to tell him to stop talking about you as if all you were good for was sex, and I really wanted to take a slushy and toss it right in his face, because he deserved it more than anybody else I'd ever tossed one at before," He went on, starting to shake as his anger came back to him. "And then I'd see him walk by, with his arm around your waist or holding onto your hand-or he'd kiss you or hug you...it bugged me every time he touched you near me, and all I could do was stuff my hands in my pockets and look away, or I'd grab you and take you away from him, because he didn't deserve you." Puck finished.

There was silence in the room for a few minutes after that, as Puck idly plucked at her hair, playing with the dark strands, and she let her hands run up and down his chest. They sat there, enjoying one another's touch and their company, as they each debated who should be the next to speak, and what should be said next.

"And now that I have you, I'm not giving you back," Puck spoke up finally, his voice sounding as if he was fighting back emotion from overfilling it. "I know he tends to decide he wants you back when you're with somebody else and no longer wants him-he always wants what he can't have-but he can't have you back. You're mine now," He said fierocously, pulling her closer to him, grateful that his ribs were healing so well and so quickly.

She giggled as she fought her way out of his hold and looked up at him with a coy look on her face, a teasing glint in her eyes.

"Well, there's no need to puff your chest out like that. I'm not going back to him, whether he wants me or not," She said playfully, ducking as he reached out to pull her back into his arms. "Stop, please," She said, her giggles fading as she realized there was no better time than right now, when they were both so happy and carefree, to tell him the secret she'd been hiding for so long.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, propping himself up so he could see her better. "Did I do something wrong?" He wondered, his eyebrows forming an adorable V in confusion.

"No, no-you didn't do anything! I just...I need to tell you something, and I figured there was no better time than right now to do so," She explained, lowering her head. "I just...promise me you won't be angry with me, please? For not telling you sooner?" She asked, her voice begging and pleading with him.

"Why would I be mad at you?" He asked, honestly confused.

"Jesse's in the show with Kurt and I, and he's playing my love interest," She said quickly. "And I have to kiss him-multiple times throughout the show," She blurted.

"That's it?" He asked, raising a single eyebrow.

"Yes?" She questioned, waiting for his reaction.

Instead of getting angry or jealous, he did the unexpected. He started to laugh, reaching out and pulling her close to him once again, shaking his head as he spoke to her. "Rachel, you've got a part in a musical. Jesse is an actor, and you are an actress. So what if you're playing a couple and need to kiss? It's _acting. _You're going to be kissing tons of other guys when you're big and famous one day, but as long as I'm the guy who you come home to and crawl into bed with at night, giving all your love directly to me, then I don't really care. I can't say I'm crazy about the fact, but I can't be mad at you for it, or I'd be as bad and unsupportive as Finn," He told her.

"How did I get so lucky?" She wondered.

"I ask myself that question all the time," He admitted.


	24. Chapter 24: An Over Due Moment

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 24**

"Rachel?" Kurt said as Rachel entered the suite with Puck that Friday night. "Oh, Puck's back? I forgot it was Friday...but I set the room up for him, like you asked," Kurt said, his worried tone switching to a happy, care free one. Rachel shot him a questionable look but he just shook his head. "I'm gonna be out on the couch, so you can have an actual bed." Kurt told Puck.

"I've got a broken arm! It's not like I need to be baby-ed," Puck sighed as he shook his head, making his way towards the room.

"Don't mind him. He's exhausted." Rachel said, rolling her eyes as he closed the door to the bedroom behind him. She made her way towards the couch and took a seat besides Kurt, turning towards him and sighing. "What's the matter?"

"Finn's leaving next Monday," Kurt blurted out. "For boot camp, that is. He hasn't really been talking to anybody from Glee, since you left, and he doesn't know about you and Puck yet. But, he's coming out here to see you and I before he leaves. He...Rachel, he doesn't even know that Puck's here in New York." Kurt said lowering his gaze from Rachel's. "I would have told him, but he seemed so excited to be coming out here to see you, and I didn't want to ruin that for him," He admitted.

"I don't understand," Rachel frowned. "All of Lima knows that Puck and I are together. I mean, it was posted all over Facebook before the two of us even made it official in the real world. How do he not know already?" Rachel asked Kurt. "And..well, Kurt, has no right to be angry with me for dating Puck, or with Puck for following me out here. He left me the day of our wedding and decided to join the army so that I couldn't follow him. He started making decisions for my own life without even asking what I wanted or thought," Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He's coming because he wants you back," Kurt said softly. Rachel turned towards him with shock, before swallowing and taking a deep breath before answering.

"When's he coming?" Rachel asked with a sigh.

"He'll be here sometime tomorrow. I'm not sure the exact time. But...you should prepare Puck for it, alright? You weren't at the train station when they got into that fight. It was scary, Rach, and I really do think that Puck would have really hurt him if nobody had stepped in to stop him. I'm not strong enough to interfere in a fight between them," Kurt said.

"If they get into a fight, they'll be done with it before they even start. You guys didn't have me at the train station, remember? I've always been able to keep Puck calm. The way Quinn has always been able to relax Finn? Well, that was how Puck and I have always been, haven't you guys noticed that?" Rachel said softly, a sad smile on her face as she stood up and started walking towards the bedroom where Puck already was.

"Rachel...just be sure that this is what you want, alright? Finn's my brother and I care about him. He's always been looking out for me, but I can't admit that Puck never tried to help me out before, because that would be a lie. Puck probably did a better job stopping the bullying than Finn did. But, I don't want either of them to get hurt, alright. And they're both crazy about you." Kurt sighed. Rachel nodded at him once as she looked back at him with a small smile. She opened the door to the room and entered, closing it softly behind her. "The drama never freaking ends with that girl," Kurt said, sounding slightly amused.

* * *

Rachel sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at Puck who was lying on Kurt's bed, his good arm thrown over his face, covering up his eyes. She wasn't sure if he was asleep, but she did know that he just seemed so adorable. He looked younger than he normally did, and Rachel was enjoying watching him in this relaxed state. She wanted to savor that moment for a minute before she ruined it by informing him that they would be getting an unexpected-and slightly uninvited-guest visitor the next day. One that Puck would not want around.

"What's going on? You're never that quiet unless something's wrong." Puck sighed, rolling onto his side and propping up on one elbow as he stared at her with a grunt. "Come on, spill, or I'm just going to expect the worse," He shook his head. He should have known that dating Rachel would come with its fair share of drama. But he'd been so excited to actually get her to worry about the bad parts of the relationship he'd wanted for so long.

"Kurt talked to Finn today," Rachel said softly, looking at the carpeted floor, rather than at the handsome boy lying on the bed on the other side of her room. "And he's leaving for boot camp soon. But, before he goes, he decided that he's going to come to New York to come see me," She said softly.

"Didn't he get the memo that you were my girl now?" He asked, an amused smile on his face as he shook his head, chuckling slightly at her statement. She frowned, before going on.

"Actually...he doesn't know," She said.

"And Kurt didn't think to mention it?" Puck froze.

"He wanted to, but he didn't want to make Finn mad when he was so excited. And Kurt is his brother, you know. He's excited as well and that wasn't the first thing on his mind," Rachel explained.

"When's the idiot going to be here? How long do I have before I have to give you back to him?" Puck asked with a sigh, twisting back onto his back as he covered his face once again, not wanting Rachel to see how much losing her was going to affect him. He didn't want her to see his tears.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going back to Finn," Rachel said softly. "He's coming tomorrow...but I'm going to tell him as soon as possible about us. I already told you that I wasn't going back to him, remember? I love you and I want to be with you. He _dumped _me,Noah, and he didn't even care to really check up on me. You were here for me, and you've always been there for me. Why would I stupidly pick him over you again?" She asked.

"I don't know. Because everybody picks him over me? Because he's Finn Hudson and I'm just Noah Puckerman? Because he's the star quarterback and the glee club stud? Because he's the hometown hero who's going to go on to be America's hero and I'm just the Lima Loser with a dead beat father and a bastard child out there that I had sophomore year with my best friend's girlfriend? Because I'm the bad-ass bully who never gave a damn about anybody's feelings? Because he's freaking Finn Hudson and he's freaking perfect, so why should you pick me over him?"

"Are you still caught up on high school? Yeah, okay, I get it. All through high school Finn was the golden boy who everybody idolized while you were just his jack ass best friend with no future. But, look at what happened in the long run. Noah, you're not a Lima Loser and you never were. You got out of Lima, and you didn't need to join the army for that to happen. Finn's not joining to be some sort of hero and he's not fooling anybody when he says its because of his dad. He's going it so he can say he got out of Lima and did something with his life!" Rachel snapped.

"You were going to marry the kid. What the hell does that tell me, Rachel? It doesn't matter what you say about who's better than the other one. You were going to be fine picking him until he left you and who's to say that I wasn't just some sort of rebound? Maybe now that he's coming back, you're just going to fall for him all over again? Who's to say you ever got over him?" Puck asked, pushing himself into an upright, sitting position.

"Who the hell did I sleep with the first time? Was it Finn? How long did I make him wait? Three years? How long did you have to wait? Noah, I love you and I always have. I was settling for Finn, but I'm done settling now! I want to be with you, alright?" Rachel snapped, standing up and walking towards him.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she sat down on the bed besides him and pushed him backwards, lying down on top of him as she shushed him. She leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you, alright? Now shut up and let me prove it," She grinned slyly at him.


	25. Chapter 25: A True Love

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 25**

Finn Hudson arrived at the train station around eleven o'clock the next morning. His step brother, Kurt Hummel, met him there and brought him to the hotel where he was staying in a taxi. Kurt and Finn didn't talk for must of their ride. They didn't bring up Rachel, and their different views on what she was going through. They didn't discuss were Puck had disappeared to after the fight between Finn and Puck after Rache's departure. They didn't speak at all, besides the necessary pleasantries that were required when two family members met up again after about a month apart from each other. Especially when they had been very close friends throughout high school.

In a way, Finn was enjoying the silence, because it gave him time to think. He had two choices that he could make when it came to Rachel, and he still hadn't made up his mind for which one he'd be following through. He could tell Rachel that he didn't care about making sure she followed her dreams, because he wanted to be with her and he was being selfish to stop her from being with him if that was what she wanted. He could tell her that they should run off that night and get married, before she went off to join him as an army wife. Or, he could tell her that they could try and start all over, enjoying a long distance relationship until he was done with his tour and could join her in New York where they'd get married.

He figured if they went with the second option, by that time she'd have lived out her Broadway fantasy and be done with that pipe dream. He was fairly certain that by the time he was done with his years of service, he would return to find a Rachel who was ready to return to Lima, realizing that Broadway was a fantasy for her and nothing more-it wasn't a career she could actually have. Then they'd go back to Ohio, settling in LIma where he'd take over Burt's tire shop and they would raise a family, enjoying their comfortable lifestyle with their three children, Rachel acting as a stay at home mother. Yes, the second option was definitely the best, he decided, as he followed Kurt down the hallway of the hotel.

"Finn, I suppose I should give you a fair warning about what you should expect when you-"Kurt started softly, sliding his key into the door. Finn ignored him though, opening the door immediately and rushing inside, spotting Rachel just walking out of what he suspected to be the bathroom in a pair of denim short cut-off shorts and a black razor back tank top, her hair piled onto the top of her head in a mess bun.

"RACH!" He grinned, walking towards her and wrapping her in a hug. "I've missed you, babe," He told her, looking down at the short girl he was so in love with with a goofy smile. "You look amazing," He told her, leaning down to kiss her.

"Rachel? What's going-oh, _he's _here," A strong, deep voice said. Finn looked up from his action of attempting to kiss Rachel to find Noah Puckerman leaning in the doorway of what he assumed to be the bedroom, his strong arms crossed over his broad chest. "No, no-by all means, go right ahead and continue your actions of trying to kiss my girlfriend. That's perfectly all right," Puck rolled his eyes, pushing off of the wall and taking another step towards Rachel, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Girlfriend? Rach, what's he talking about?" Finn asked in confusion.

Rachel blushed, lowering her head as she took a step closer to Puck, allowing his large arms to wrap around her waist, holding onto her from behind as he held her directly in front of him. Finn knew what that stance meant. Puck was marking his territory. Unfortunately, what Puck thought was his territory, was really Finn's girl. And he didn't plan on sharing anytime soon.

"Rach...what's going on here?" Finn asked again, his eyebrows forming a V of confusion as they furrowed together and his mouth formed that pout that Rachel had always thought was so adorable. Not anymore.

"Yeah, Hudson, _girlfriend," _Puck said snidely. "She's my girlfriend now, because you dumped her and left her alone. You sent her to freaking New York City on her own, and I was man enough to come after her to make sure she was okay. And not just that, I came after her because I loved her and was willing to give up my dreams to make her happy!" Puck said.

"Noah, be nice," Rachel said softly, her voice a low whisper.

"Rach, will you please just explain what's going on here?" Finn asked.

"Well, Finn...I hate you tell you this, because I know you came all the way out here to see me, because you felt like I still felt the same way about you as you did about me, but, well, I don't. I'm with Noah now," She whispered softly.

"You and...you're dating Puckerman now?" Finn asked softly.

"I'm really sorry, Finn. I would have told you sooner, but I just assumed you knew. Everybody else seemed to have already figured it out, even before Noah and I decided to act on our feelings and make it official," Rachel said.

"You're dating _Puck?" _Finn snapped, his confusion morphing into anger. "What the hell is wrong with me that every single girl I love ends up turning on me and dating my so-called best friend? What the hell does he have that I don't?" He asked, taking a step towards Puck and Rachel. "I just don't get it-he's a player who's been with more girls than I've ever even liked in my life, yet everybody picks him!" Finn said angrily. As he spoke, he took smaller steps towards Rachel and Puck, growing angrier and angrier with each and every word he spoke to them.

Instinctively, Puck pushed Rachel behind him and began to walk towards Finn, a hard glare on his face. When the two boys met in the middle, Puck opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Finn raising his fist and lunging it forward, right into Puck's face. Puck staggered back a little form shock and impact before lunging forward and grabbing Finn by the shoulders, bringing him to the ground. And that was when the full blown fight began, that was more intense than any of their other fights before.

"This is worth than the train station was...god, Rachel, what kind of effect do you have on these guys?" Kurt asked in amazement, his eyes growing wide as he shook his head, watching the fighting boys in front of him. If he'd looked up, he would have noticed the shocked, somewhat scared, and very upset expression that had taken over his best friend's face.

* * *

By the time Rachel and Kurt had finally managed the break the fight up, Puck was clutching at his rib, his breathing short and shallow. Finn's face was a bloody mess that looked absolutely ready to bruise.

"Are your ribs okay?" Rachel asked, grabbing Puck and helping him towards the couch, sitting down besides him.

"I'll be fine, Rachel-just as long as you stay right here, okay?" He asked, pulling her up onto his lap and holding her close, sighing as he kissed the top of her head, right on the top of her fruity smelling hair. "Mmmmm," He sighed. "That's much better already," He told her, holding her as close to him as he possibly could without hurting one of them.

Kurt had taken Finn into the bathroom where he was cleaning the blood from his face and giving him ice packs for any bruising.

"You really shouldn't have been fighting over me," Rachel sighed. "That's not good behavior and it doesn't solve anything. Violence is never the answer, and don't give me the crap about how he started it, alright?" She said.

"I should have known this was going to be _my _fault," Puck rolled his eyes. "After all, could anybody imagine the precious, wonderful, all-star Finn Hudson doing anything as awful as starting a fist fight? No, the almighty Finn can do no wrong, especially to residents of Lima, Ohio. Instead, it's always his loser best friend, the school's bad-ass who has a reputation for breaking hearts that gets the blame. He's the one who's wrong, isn't it obvious? It couldn't possibly be Finn's fault if Puck was involved. Nope, not possible," He said sarcastically, his voice bitter and cruel.

"Are you quite done yet with your little self-pity act? Because I refuse to even dignify any of that with a response until you're thoroughly finished, because that was just obnoxious and stupid. I was telling you not to bring up how he'd started it, because it doesn't matter who started anything. You were just released from the hospital. You should have just let the punch go, and it all would have been okay. I understand that he overreacted to what happened and started the fight, but it takes two to actually fist fight, and you were involved, by actively deciding to join in. That comment had nothing to do with Finn being the home town hero and you being the amazing boy I fell in love with," Rachel informed hi,

"I'm sorry. It's just...I'm so afraid that I'm going to lose you, especially now that he's back. I constantly have to remind myself that this is real-that I actually have you. That's why I'm always touching you. It just seems too good to be true, especially for me. I don't deserve you, yet here you are, and somehow it's real and wonderful and you want _me," _He sighed, turning her around and putting her in a lying position so that her head was rested on his lap as he looked down at her, stroking her hair casually.

"It's real, alright? Now please stop being so down on yourself all the time, because it's getting quite depressing, trying to cheer you up all of the time," Rachel rolled her eyes as she cuddled up close to him.

"Not all of us were born with the confidence of a star, you know," He teased her, giving her a gentle little bop on the nose.

"My confidence level happens to be quite ordinary, thank you very much," She replied bitterly, rolling her eyes once again at him. "Your confidence, however, is quite lacking and that upsets me. After all, how can I love you if you don't even think that you're worthy of love? If you don't love yourself, how can you even love me? Real love can't exist without loving yourself," She sighed, shaking her head.

"Please don't start singing songs from _RENT _to me. That's going to make me want to go off myself even more than you must think my low self esteem makes me want to. Which, by the way, I'm very confident. I'm a stud, remember? The only time I'm not my overly confident self is when I'm trying to figure out how the hell I ended up with a girl as amazing as you are. You're a gland slam...you don't even know what that is, but it's a good thing, alright? It just means that you're the best of the best-the total package. You're everything that every girl in the world could possibly ever want, alright? And I somehow managed to get you. So my question is...may I keep you?" He wondered.

"Okay, Casper, that's enough with the cheesy little lines, alright? And that was a very stupid question, because I picked you over Finn, therefore stating that I love you, would like to be with you, and would love it if you'd hold onto me for a little while longer, so I don't end up alone in New York City with only Kurt for company," Rachel said teasingly.

"Okay, I get it. It was a stupid question and I'm an idiot. Of course you want me to keep you, and of course you love me and want me. Not that I can blame you, of course, so don't think you have to try and act differently or shy about it. It's quite obvious anyways. But, I do have one little question for you, if you don't mind me asking it," He said, his voice cheerful and starting to sound like the old, teasing Noah Puckerman that Rachel had fallen in love with. She nodded, allowing him to go on. "Who the hell is Casper?" He asked.

* * *

"Did you know?"

It was such a stupid question. It really was, even coming from Finn.

It was a stupid question, and that was why Kurt didn't feel bad about playing dumb.

"Did I know _what _exactly? There are quite a few things I could know, after all," He shrugged, running the wash cloth under cold water before rubbing at his mouth to get the blood from his swollen, bloody lip off of his face. This was a horrible task for Kurt, as he tended to get very nasesous at the sight of blood. And here he was, with his step-brother who was albeit covered in it.

"Did you know about _them? _About Puck and Rachel and how they're dating now?" He asked, crossing her arms over his chest. He was pouting, and it was a rather unattractive look on him.

And his new question proved how stupid he was. He was _living _with Rachel. How the hell would Kurt not have known if she'd gotten a new boyfriend? Especially when the boyfriend was Puck, who was obviously living with them. Sometimes, Finn's idiotic ways were just a little too much to take. Sometimes, he was even dumber than Brittany was, but unlike Brittany's utter stupidity, Finn was just oblivious and thoughtless when he spoke. Brittany got easily confused, but Finn didn't pay attention.

"Yes," Kurt answered honestly. He didn't have anything to hide. Rachel and Puck had nothing to hide. They'd done nothing wrong. THere was no problem here, besides Finn's jealousy and Puck's over protective instincts when it came to Rachel.

"You knew? And you didn't tell me?" Finn asked, pushing Kurt away from him and studying him with an angry scowl on his face. It was another ugly facial expression that he'd made that day. It made Kurt wonder what had ever attracted him to the tall, dopy boy in the first place.

"I really don't see how it was any of your business. You broke up with Rachel. That gave her freedom to date whoever she wanted to. And it's not like I lied to you. You never once asked me if Rachel was in a relationship. You just assumed she was here in her dream city, waiting for you to come back to tell her you wanted her back. In case you haven't noticed, for Rachel to take you back, even without Puck, you would have needed to come back, crawling on your hands and knees, begging for forgiveness. And you would have needed to give her one hell of a diamond if you even dreamt of proposing to her ever again, because she was pissed at you-heartbroken, but pissed," Kurt explained.

"How long have they been together? How long has it been?" Finn asked, his voice low and hollow sounding. It was clear that he'd ignored Kurt's speech, not giving it a second thought or paying it any attention. He probably hadn't even listened to it, and that bothered Kurt more than the fact that he was treating Rachel like she couldn't do any better than him, when everybody knew that not only did Rachel deserve better, but that she could do much better. Santana's snide comments about Finn's sexual abilities hadn't really been meant to insult him-not completely-they were mostly meant to try and convince Rachel to stop wasting her time with him.

Everybody had tried to make Rachel see reason, even Quinn Fabray who honestly didn't like her, up until the very end. She and Rachel had had their moments, but Quinn had always been jealous of Rachel. Jealous of Rachel's talent, of her determination, of her confidence-of everything that made Rachel, Rachel Berry. And that had put a strain on their relationship before it had even begun.

"A few weeks now. It was the same week that you guys broke up. Probably the day after you called Rachel and Puck got into his accident-you did hear about the accident, right?" Kurt said. Finn nodded quickly, making it quite clear that he didn't care in the slightest that his supposed best friend had gotten into a horrible accident and put in the hospital. That sickened Kurt a little bit more than Finn's feelings and thoughts on Rachel. Kurt was growing more and more disgusted by Finn as the time went on.

"Did they have sex? Has he been sleeping with my girl? Or is she a big slut who's sleeping with him and forgetting that she's supposed to be upset and crying her eyes out over the fact that I walked out on her? What the hell is going on here that I can't keep a girl like Rachel Berry when she runs off to a guy like Noah Puckerman?" He asked in disgust.

That's when Kurt realized Finn's true feelings for Rachel. He was sure that somewhere, deep down inside, Finn did love Rachel, in some small way. But he didn't love her the same way Puck did-with all of his heart. He didn't worship the ground she walked on and he wouldn't do whatever it took to make her happy. No, Finn thought of Rachel as a safety net. As long as he had Rachel to fall back on, he'd never be alone. He would always have somebody to kiss, somebody to hug, somebody to touch. As long as he had Rachel, he had somebody who worshipped him and thought the world of him. Finn needed Rachel as a security blanket to keep his confidence up.

That wasn't love. Love was like what Puck and Rachel had, where they both thought the world of one another. Where they would do anything for each other. Where they could communicate without words. That was what Rachel deserved, and Finn wasn't giving that to her. Which was why he decided to be honest with his step-brother in answer to his question.

"They slept together a long time ago. You were never her first, Finn. She slept with Puck before she slept with anybody, because she wanted him. She loved him from the very beginning, but she didn't think he wanted her. So she was settling for you. You were her rebound, Finn, and that's all you're ever going to be to her. And that's alright, because all she ever was to you was another cheerleader to make you feel good about yourself. You were worse to her than she ever was to you, because at least she honestly loved you and treated you like an actual person. You never deserved her, and now she's with somebody who does. So don't ruin that for her, or I'll kill you myself," Kurt threatened.

"I thought you were my brother. Since when do brothers turn their backs on one another to defend the guy who stole one of their girlfriends? THat's not cool, Kurt. It really just isn't cool at all." Finn said, shaking his head as if he had a right to be disgusted with Kurt's actions and words. Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. "Of course, I get it. I mean, I can't keep a girl because they keep running off to Puck, so why should you be any different. You've got a crush on him too now, right?' Finn taunted. Kurt ignored him as he stormed from the bathroom.


	26. Chapter 26:A Deal

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 26  
_A/N: I should be doing my homework right now, because I have tons of stuff to do for cheerleading, school, and stuff tonight, but I'm going to write a chapter now instead. You're all very lucky. _  
**

Finn didn't exit the bathroom for about another hour after Kurt left him there. Rachel and Puck were still cuddled together on the couch, with Kurt draped across an arm chair. They were playing _RENT _on the TV, Rachel singing along with every song, making Puck smile-he loved it when she sang. It always made him happier. It made him remember why he'd fallen in love with her in the first place, looking past her annoying attitude. All in all, the three teenagers were in an excellent mood, their room service for lunch freshly ordered about twenty minutes ago. Their good moods, though, ended as soon as they heard the bathroom door open and Finn came walking out, standing in front of the TV just as Roger and Mimi started to sing _Light My Candle. _Rachel swore under her breath-it was her favorite scene.

"I don't like this. Rachel, it's cool that you thought you had to make me jealous, or use him to try and get over me, but it's not funny anymore. He thinks you really care about him, and Kurt's under the deluded impression that you actually love his new little man-crush," Finn said, his voice filled with nothing less than disgust as he spoke.

"Man crush?" Puck asked, raising his eyebrows as he turned to study Kurt.

"Don't even ask. And it's not true at all-I happen to be very happy in my relationship with Blaine, thank you very much," Kurt said, shaking his head and inserting an eye roll as he studied Finn. "You really have a talent, you know? It seems like every single time I see you, I begin to hate you more and more," He informed his step-brother, who he'd always looked up to and admired in some way. Not anymore, of course, because it was evident that he was nothing more than a jerk who wanted exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it.

"What the hell is going on here? Did I enter some sort of alternative universe where Puck's the one everybody's in love with? Because I never remember that happening in my life before," Finn frowned.

"I'm a little surprised at his use of suck large words," Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"Rachel, you know you don't want to be with him. You want to be with me. You love me, remember? You think I'm amazing and talented, with so much potential and all that. You've wanted to be with me since sophomore year, remember?" He said, turning his full attention towards her. "I thought we had it all planned out? We'd graduate and I'd come to New York so you could try and full fill your silly little fantasies of being a big Broadway star and then, when you realized how stupid and foolish you were being, you'd agree to come back to Lima with me and I'd run Burt's tire shop and we'd have a nice little family in our home town, with you taking care of the kids and all that. The stuff fairy tales are made out of, you know?" Finn asked her.

During his little speech, Kurt stood up and walked towards him. When Finn got to the part about fairy tales, he tapped him on the shoulder. Right as Finn turned around to face him, Kurt's fist connected with Finn's face. Finn's face contorted to one full of anger and confusion as Kurt started to wave his hand all around, his face full of pain as he danced around a little bit.

"OW! Ow, ow, ow, _ow! _Man, that really _hurt! _And I think I broke a nail!" He whined, studying his hand.

"Little man just stood up to the giant? Damn, New York really is the city where anything can happen, isn't it?" Puck asked, chuckling a little bit at Kurt's actions about his attack on Finn.

"That freaking _hurt!" _Kurt complained, continuing his mantra of ows.

"What's up with all the violence?" Rachel asked softly. "It's getting ridiculous. Finn, if you can't accept that you and I can be nothing more than friends from now on, because I'm dating Noah and love him, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're going to need to either find somewhere else to stay, or get on a train and head somewhere else, because I refuse to deal with any more drama. And up until you got here, we were living in a somewhat peaceful environment." She said, pushing off of Puck and sitting up straight.

_"OW! _Dammit! How do people punch _walls?" _Kurt protested as he shook his hand.

"Noah, if you can't stop your jealousy and insecurities from getting the best of you whenever somebody from our high school lives comes back into the picture for whatever reason, you and I are going to have to call it off, because I really can not stand all of this tension. It isn't good for my skin, you know?" She sighed, facing her boyfriend.

"_Frigg! _I think I broke my hand!" Kurt swore.

"And Kurt...you really shouldn't throw punches like that. If you're going to punch somebody, especially somebody so much bigger than you, you should really consider learning how to throw a punch the correct way." She sighed, cutting him off from his complaints about his terribly injured hand.

* * *

It was a few days later, after Finn had departed New York City to return to Lima, when Puck got a call from his ex best friend. Rachel and Kurt were at rehearsal, their first dress rehearsal for the show that would be starting in about two weeks, and he was at the hotel alone, searching through a catalogue for a first for Rachel on her opening night for her first real performance, as she was constantly reminding him this was. It was her big break, as she often said when discussing the musical and how the show was coming along with him. Kurt referred to it the same way, sometimes going as far as to wonder if maybe it could get him into NYADA if Carmen ended up arriving at the show to watch it, since she'd been the one to tell Rachel about it.

"What do you want?" Puck growled as he answered the phone, closing the catalogue and lounging back on the couch, relaxing for a little bit before Kurt and Rachel were supposed to return. He still had about an hour, but they sometimes came back earlier. Sometimes later. Usually later.

"I'm sorry."

"You're s_orry?" _Puck repeated blankly. "Did you call Rachel and Kurt to tell them you were _sorry?" _Puck asked him, his words suddenly bitter and cold. He couldn't believe that Finn was calling him to apologize for the terrible way he'd treated the girl that the two old friends both loved and held so close to their hearts, and his step-brother, who had always been a best friend to the tall quarterback.

"I thought about what I said, and I was wrong, alright? I mean, I must have been wrong, if it made Kurt angry enough to hit me. He's not usually a violent person. He didn't even want to hurt Sebestian for throwing that slushy at Blaine. Speaking of...I still don't know how they found out about that particular habit we had back in high school...but, anyways, that's not important. Listen, if Rachel's happy, then I guess that's all that really matters. I mean, I know that I act as if I only love her because of how she makes me feel, but I really do love her," Finn explained.

"I know you do. And she loved you too, which is why I never tried to interfere. I wanted her to be happy and I wanted what was best for her. I was always doing what she wanted. And you always did too, but...sometimes two people just aren't meant to be. I always assumed that was meant for Rachel and I, but apparently it's supposed to be you and her. I'm sorry about that," Puck said.

"Don't apologize for making her happy. All I really want is the best for her. I want her to be happy and cared for. Just promise me one thing, alright? THen I can rest easy and all that shit, okay?" Finn asked him.

"What's up?" Puck asked him.

"Don't ever hurt her. If you break her heart, I'm going to have to hunt you down and kill you in the most painful way possible, alright? I can't have her broken hearted, and if she doesn't want to be with me anymore, I can't be angry. I just have to let it happen. But that doesn't mean I can just sit back if she gets hurt, either," Finn informed him. His voice was low, a growl sound coming from the back of his throat as he spoke. It was meant to be scary, but since PUck knew the damage he could cause to Finn, he really wasn't that afraid. BUt he figured it would be best to let Finn think he was actually doing something productive in his newfound efforts to make things right with Rachel.

"I couldn't even dream of it. I love her too much, and I always have. I had her once, you know? And I gave her up, because she wanted you. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, especially since you were with Quinn, but I let her go, because I figured it made her happy to think she at least stood a chance of getting you away from her. I don't regret my decision, though, because if she hadn't been hung up on you, the truth about Quinn never would have come out and you would have ended up unhappy forever. And that wouldn't have been fair to you," Puck sighed.

"Did you love Quinn?" Finn asked suddenly. "Not as much as you love Rachel, of course, but did you have any real feelings for her? Did you actually love her, the way you told her you did when Beth was born?"

"I lusted for her, but every guy in the school probably did that. She w_as _Quinn Fabray, after all. BUt, no, I didn't love her. I couldn't love anybody, with those feelings I had towards Rachel. She wasn't just the girl I wanted to be with or cared about. It was like she was a part of me. She had my heart, and she was the one person who made me act like a pussy rather than a bad ass. I went out looking for _puppies _because she asked me too, you know? And I applied to college because she practically forced me too," He shrugged.

"I know you guys slept together." Finn blurted.

"Kurt told you? I should have figured. That kid can't keep anything a second for too long. Well, I guess I can't blame you if you want to be mad, but it's not like she ever slept with me or asked me to sleep with her when you two were together. We almost did, once, but we stopped it, because she wanted to be with you. It's strange, looking back on that and realizing that everything that happened where she was always picking you over everybody else, and you were constantly picking her over everything else-all the other girls I had in my life-and then looking at it now and seeing that I've got her, and she wants me, and that you're...damn, bro, you're leaving for the _army," _Puck said, his voice growing hoarse.

"Yeah...I am...damn, Puck, we were best friends for song...what happened? I just...we wasted everything. We wasted the last three years of high school hating each other and fighting with one another-secretly resenting each other because of Rachel, and now I'm leaving to join the army. I just...I can't believe we wasted so many years fighting," He sighed.

"Hey, don't talk like that, alright? Don't be such a girl. We've got years to be best friends. When you get back, we're going to go out and get drunk like we're in high school again and act like teenagers. We're going to be best friends and write to each other. Are we done being girls for now? BEcause my bad ass status can't take Rachel whooping my ass all the time and me talking about how I love my best friend and can't believe he's leaving me. Being in love is one thing, but acting gay? Doesn't work for me," Puck said.

"How the hell does Blaine pull off being a chick magnet and gay?" Finn wondered with a laugh.

"Well, since he's dating Kurt, who is so gay he's technically a girl, making him almost straight, it makes sense that Blaine would have to be a dude's dude to get him, doesn't it? And man, we're acting like girls right now. We aren't supposed to gossip and stupid stuff like that. We're manly men who get drunk and bang chicks. We play football and crash beer cans on our heads. We play beer pong and live for strip poker. And then we fall in love and get totally whipped and stop doing all of that stuff, but it doesn't make us girls, alright? And, now that I've got Rachel keeping me on a short leash, you've got to be the bad ass, sex shark stud in this friendship, alright?"

"Do you really think anybody could ever replace you in that category? Because it seems a little silly to me that you believe that I could do that, because I'm, well, me," Finn said and both boys started to laugh, their friendship back in check.


	27. Chapter 27: An Opening Night

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 27**

The night before Rachel's opening night for _RENT _involved a full on freak-out by the little diva as she sat on the edge of her bed, wrapped in Puck's arms, in tears, sobbing. And Puck just couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with her, because she _should _be happy. She was starting at NYADA in a week-she'd be moving into her dorm room later that week-and the next night she was going to be starring in an off-Broadway production of _RENT _which had been one of her goals for _after _a full year at NYADA, not before. So he couldn't explain why she was crying so much that Kurt had locked himself in the bathroom, claiming that he had a headache from all of her senseless noise.

In all honesty, he probably should have been able to expect that this was what it was going to be like living with two full on divas, but neither of them had really had any diva-fits, besides Kurt's little freak-out when he'd first arrived. And when Finn had visited. But those didn't really count, because circumstances sometimes deserve a little drama.

But right now, when there was no reason for the tears, it was just senseless and it was driving him insane. He was ready to get up and leave, heading on the first train back to Lima. Of course, they all knew that he wouldn't do that, but he was ready to at least threaten to-not that Rachel would believe his empty threat.

"Rach, come on, tell me what's wrong. I can't help if I don't know what the problem is," He begged, holding her close to him as she rested her head on his chest.

"I have my opening night tomorrow!" She snapped at him. Okay, now she was angry. He nodded, taking in this new change in emotions. "Are you an idiot or something?" Now she was just being mean...he didn't think that was called for. "There's nobody here to see me! There's nobody here for me to prove that I _made _it! Do you know how much that _sucks? _There's no point in any of this if I can't prove to everybody in Lima that I made it, even after everything they did to try and bring me down!" She said.

"Rach, I don't know if you noticed this, but everybody _knows _that you made it. They all know you got into NYADA despite any problems that may have arouse during the process. They saw how other schools tried to get you taken out of competitions so they could beat us. They all know that you're a star, okay? So stop crying and go clean yourself up. Then get some sleep before the show tomorrow, or I swear to god, I'll pack my bags and take the first train back to Lima and send Finn here to deal with you. And I'll even go as far as to take his place in the army, because having people shoot at me? It's probably easier than your diva-fits," He told her with a teasing smile on his face.

"Fine," She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she stormed off, banging on the bathroom door for Kurt to allow her in.

As soon as Puck heard the bathroom door slam shut, he grabbed his phone and starting making a very important phone call. He waited during that stupid Katy Perry song for an answer, until finally the bitchy tone answered.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Rachel's opening night is tomorrow,"

"So?"

"She's freaking out because nobody's going to be there to watch her. Satan, please tell me you managed to make sure everybody can get out here to see her?" Puck sighed.

He'd figured Rachel would want an audience for the show, and he'd been planning how to do that with Santana for weeks now, since Finn had left New York.

"Don't worry about it. Do you have the tickets?"

"Front row,"

"Perfect," Santana said as she hung up.

* * *

Rachel stood behind the doorway-scenery, rapping on it in her tiny little pink and black, lacy mini nightgown with the shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was in a loose bun, falling into her face, and she played the part of the perfect Mimi.

Jesse tossed open the door and the song began.

"_What you forget?" _He asked, barely even looking at her as she brushed inside, leaning against the prop-wall with her candle dangling carelessly between her finger tips.

_"Got a light?" _She wondered, pushing from the wall and approaching him slowly, holding the candle out to him.

And that was when she noticed who was in the audience.

Puck was sitting front and center with a proud grin on his face as he watched her-she'd been expecting him to look bored out of his mind-and besides him on either side were her fathers, looking as proud as possible. Those three weren't surprising in the slightest. But, on the left of Hiram, her dad, was Santana Lopez with her queen bitch smirk on her face, arms crossed with Brittany Pierce besides her, the blonde's arm wrapped around her latino girlfriend's shoulders. Next to Brittany was Quinn Fabray with her wavy, short blonde hair and small smile in place as she watched her newest best friend. Finn Hudson was next to Quinn, and Rachel could just barely make out them holding hands in the dark. Mercedes Jones, Rachel's other best friend, next to Kurt, was located between Finn and Sam Evans. Mercedes looked torn between jealousy and pride for Rachel. Sam was just focused on the show, which was obviously confusing him already.

On the right of LeRoy, her daddy, was Tina Cohen-Chang, the Asian soon-to-be star soloist of the Glee club with her dancer boyfriend Mike Chang besides her, his hand resting on her knee. Rory Flannigan, the foreign exchange student from Ireland, was next to Mike with Sugar Motta, the spoiled, tone deaf rich girl next to him. Joe Hart was next to Sugar, his dreadlocks in that messy bun he liked to do where they were all pushed to one side of his head. Blaine Anderson, Kurt's boyfriend and one of Rachel's close friends, was sitting next to Joe with-Rachel gasped at this appearance-Matt Rutherford, who had only been a member of the club for a short while-one year-before transferring schools. Still, he'd been in the original club, and Rachel could tell from his clenched jaw that he still hated Jesse for what he'd done to Rachel that year. Artie Abrams sat in his wheelchair in the aisle, besides Matt. And then there was Mr. Shuester in one of the side sets of seats, still in the front row with Ms. Pillsburry in the seat next to him.

And her mother was on the other side of the guidance counselor with Beth on her lap.

Everybody was there. Everybody who was important to Rachel was there, watching her debut performance as Mimi in an off-Broadway production, and from the wink that Puck flashed at her, she was sure that it was all because of him.

SOmetimes, she loved him just a little bit too much for words to explain. He was utterly perfect, and there was no way around it.

* * *

After the show, Rachel raced towards her designated meeting spot to meet Puck, racing right into his arms-after changing out of her skimpy costume and into a cute red dress for the after party, which she really wanted to skip to spend time with her friends.

"I can't believe you did all this! You're amazing!" She told him as he opened his arms to embrace her, lifting her off the ground a little.

"Hey, where's my love? I spent last few weeks of summer helping him set all this up and you totally blew me off to make out with your boyfriend. God, do you know how hard it was to get us all hotel rooms in the same hotel, on the same floor, in order, at a decent price this time of the year? I'm so under appreciated," Santana mumbled in annoyance.

"I can't believe you're all here! And, you too, Matt!" Rachel said, releasing Puck, ignoring Santana, and running over to surprise Matt with a hug. "I've missed you so much!" She squealed happily, shocking every single member-whether former member or current-with her happy reaction to seeing Matt. Nobody had expected her to be this excited. THey'd actually been expecting a shocked indifference. After all, it hadn't been as if she and Matt had belonged to the same social circles or anything. THey barely interacted.

"I missed you too, Rach," The tall, ex-football player whispered to her as he hugged her.

Puck's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, watching the scene that was a little too cozy for his liking. He didn't mind one of his oldest friends being friendly with his girlfriend, but he wasn't crazy about just how close they seemed to be. If he'd known they were going to cling to one another as if their lives depended on it, he would have never thought to include Matt in the event.

"Since when are you two so friendly?" Santana asked the question that Puck was dying to blurt out, with more tact than Puck would have been able to manage asking it. She raised her eyebrows, expecting an answer immediately.

"In case you all managed to forget, back when we were sophomores and I was still the number one slushy victim when it came to that inhumane sense of torture and you all lived to insult me and bully me, the only person who was always nice to me without an ulterior motive was Matt. He used to help me get cleaned off after Noah would toss a slushy in my face, he'd talk to me, trying to cheer me up after Finn led me on. He would make me laugh rather than cry when Santana, Quinn, Kurt, and Mercedes were ridiculing me for my drive and my obsession with solos. And after that ballad terror with Mr. Shuester, Matt offered to full fill the assignment, despite his absence," Rachel explained, sounding like her old self.

"I take it she hasn't changed all that much?" Matt wondered, releasing Rachel from the hug but still holding an arm around her waist. Puck glared at him, seeing everything in red. He wanted to tear Matt's arm out of its socket to get him away from Rachel. He didn't want this guy touching Rachel, especially when he had good memories with her that made her happy from a time when Puck's memories with her were awful and full of tears due to his jerk-like attitude that had made her feel so terrible about herself.

"She's a little different now," Kurt said brightly, joining the conversation then as he wrapped an arm around Blaine and gave him a kiss on the cheek, flashing a smile at all of his old high school friends. "You see, not only has she lied to all of us about being a virgin-which Puck took care of a long time ago-she's not obsessed with Finn anymore. She's over him, and she's finally admitting that she'd happier with Puck. Puckleberry 2.0 is official," Kurt explained happily, obviously not understand any part of what was happening around them. Still, Puck flashed him a grateful smile, since he'd been the one to tell Matt exactly what Puck had wanted to scream at him.

"You're dating Puckerman? When'd that one happen?" Matt asked her, sliding his arm from her waist as he faced her. At least he'd had the sense to get his hands off of Puck's girl.

"It happened when Hudson bailed on her after proposing to her and she realized that she'd loved me all along," Puck said bitterly, reaching out and pulling Rachel close to him, ignoring her protest. "It happened when I told her that I loved her, and it's going to keep happening for a long time," Puck told him, glaring at him from over the top of Rachel's head.

"Noah, I don't-"Rachel began.

"Let's go, Rach. I don't want you to be late for the after party. Blaine, Kurt-you guys ready? It's going to be chaotic trying to get a cab tonight, especially in this part of town at this hour," Puck said, hooking his arm through Rachel's and pulling her away from the group, barely giving her a chance to call out a simple good bye to everybody as he took her outside, holding his hand up for a cab. He could hear Blaine and Kurt slowly following, obviously trying to give them room for the first that was about the begin due to Puck's jerk-like actions.

"What the hell was that about, Noah? Matt and I are friends, and we haven't see one another since sophomore year. I don't understand why you had to be so bitter and cruel to him about the two of us dating. It's not as if either Matt or I have feelings for the other one. We simply enjoy one another's company, the same way I do with Kurt or Blaine. The two of us are friends, because he was there for me at a time when all I really needed was a friend. And I don't understand why you have to be so rude to him about our reunion, just because he hugged me and put his arm around me. Kurt does that all the time!" Rachel snapped, pulling her arm out of his grasp and glaring at him

"You don't sense any difference between Matt doing that and when Kurt does it? Because if you don't, I think you need to go take a class to get some gay-dar or something, because Kurt's into people a little more like me, and Matt likes people a little bit more like you," Puck said.

Rachel frowned, realization dawning on her face as she slowly began to smile.

"You think Matt...oh my god, Noah," She giggled. At this change in expressions, Kurt and Blaine approached them, taking Puck's place as trying to get a cab to stop for them. "And you think that _I _need to...oh, you're so stupid, Noah. Don't you know that Matt's gay? I thought you would have realized that with how he was always so nice to me and Kurt..."She said.

"He's...wait, what does being nice to you have to do with him being gay? Kurt was gay and Kurt wasn't mean to you. Karofsky was the biggest dick in the entire school when it came to you-and don't either of you two argue that I was worse," He glared at Blaine and Kurt as a cab pulled to the curb and the four piled inside. "Anyways, I don't understand how him being gay has anything to do with the fact that he was always nice to you and tried to get us to leave you alone," Puck frowned in confusion as he pulled Rachel close to him in the car.

"He was a confused teenage boy who wanted guidance. Kurt knew who he was, but Matt wasn't sure. So he asked me one day if he could talk to my fathers, and that was when he found it out. We progressed into friends from there, and he didn't exactly like how you guys always made me so sad, just because you could or because you thought I was a loser. But he was always nice to almost everybody that you guys bullied. He was just a nice person. So, are we done being jealous now, because there are much better ways I'd like to spend my opening night, if you don't mind," She winked at him as she placed a kiss on his cheek. He grinned down at her with a broad smile, kissing her on the lips in response.


	28. Chapter 28: A Deal

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 28**

"You, sir, are very attractive. Therefore, I will stare at you," Rachel slurred, leaning against Puck as they sat in a booth with Kurt and Blaine at the after party. Rachel was beyond drunk-there was no doubt about that. And Puck wasn't even sure where the girl had gotten the alcohol because when he'd gone searching for it, he'd come up empty. And he had the best fake ID that money and time and threats could buy. So there was no way the bartender was sneaking Rachel drinks, unless he was attractive to the hot girl and the type of bartender who put pleasing a sexy girl before his own job and career.

"That's alright with me," Puck nodded, allowing his arm to leave its post of being carelessly, casually draped across the back of the booth in order to slide down her back, wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "As long as you don't mind coming home with me tonight," He whispered into her ear, a soft, deep growl coming from the back of his throat, causing her to shiver at the mere words leaving his mouth. He knew what it took to excite her, and he would do anything to get that reaction from her.

Rachel tossed her head back, giggling at him as if he'd said the funniest thing in the world before leaning in closer to him and whispering those magic words he'd been waiting to hear all night. He grinned as he slid out of the booth, pulling her with him. He quickly said his goodbyes to Kurt and Blaine before hurrying from the party.

He was grateful that the after party had been held on the same block as their hotel, because it meant he didn't need to deal with the heavy traffic that took hours to get through. And he wouldn't need to fight for a cab.

He could just race down the streets until he got to the hotel, and then up to his room.

Because Rachel had told him those magical words that said she wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

Because Rachel did not want to be around a crowded party full of important names and faces on Broadway. Instead, she wanted to get back to her hotel room with her boyfriend so she could celebrate her debut in New York City the way she'd always dreamt of.

Yes, Rachel Berry had told Noah Puckerman that she wanted to get home as quickly as possible so that the two of them could have sex. And she'd said it in such vulgar, blunt terms that it had made Puck choke on his soda. It was requested in an un-Rachel like matter, except for the insistence and the fact that it was an order, not a request.

Of course, this was one time that Noah Puckerman did not mind being bossed around by his girlfriend. Because he had been going into a sex-starvation caused trance ever since he and Rachel had gotten together. Sure, he'd pretty much reframed from sex for a while throughout high school when he'd wanted her back and had been willing to do anything to get with her, but he hadn't had the temptations without any form of relief besides himself-which he wasn't desperate enough to stoop through-before.

Which would explain why he'd swooped Rachel up as soon as the elevator doors had opened, carrying her bridal style through the hallways until he reached their room, where he quickly unlocked the door, opened it masterfully and slammed it shut behind him, carrying Rachel straight towards the back bedroom, enjoying her giggles showing that she was acting like an eighteen year old should be behaving in that situation. He dropped her down onto the bed and then hopped on besides her, quickly finding her lips with his own and allowing her to roll right on top of him to begin their night together.

* * *

"I can never just come home again without feeling like I need to knock," Kurt Hummel's voice woke the pair up a few hours later. "I'm going to be scarred by this image for the rest of my life. I'm forever going to think that the two of you are having sex in my apartment whenever I come home, because I'm forced to share a freaking apartment with Noah Puckerman, the sex maniac. This is going to happen all the time, isn't it? Please tell me I'm wrong. I'm begging you to tell me that my hypothesis is incorrect," Kurt begged as Puck rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to sit up to spot his soon-to-be roommate standing there with his arms crossed.

"Dude, calm the heck down just because you're jealous that you and Blaine didn't freaking fuck one another like rabbits last night," Puck rolled his eyes. "And can you please shut the hell up because Rachel and I just barely fell asleep about an hour ago and we're extremely tired. And you know how cranky the bitch gets when she's woken up before she gets her eight hours of beauty sleep. The princess is not something I'm in the mood to deal with with only an hour of sleep," Puck complained, collapsing once again.

"You think it's so funny. God, how would you feel if you walked in and caught me having sex with some girl in our apartment? We're going to need to make some rules if we're to be living together, because i really think we should be considerate to one another," Kurt began to babble. "Think about how you'd feel in my shoes," Kurt shrugged.

"Dude, if I walked in and saw you having sex with some girl, I would be more confused than disgusted," Puck snickered, allowing a smirk as he covered his eyes with his arm to block out the light Kurt had turned on.

"Oh, aren't you just a comedian," Kurt said dryly.

"It's about time somebody realized it. Now shut up and turn off the light," Puck ordered.

"But I really feel like we need to have this discussion now before we forget. It's something that's going to be very important towards a successful trial as room-"

"Dude, if there's a sock on the goddamn door, don't come inside because it means Rachel and I are doing the nasty. But, contrary to whatever you might believe, I can reframe from banging my hot girlfriend in the middle of an apartment. I'll keep it in my bedroom so you don't have to see it, alright?" Puck groaned.

"Why'd you have to do it tonight? And why couldn't you have given me some sort of notice or something? Dammit, what if I'd had FInn or one of the other gleeks with me? Puck, you're not very-"Kurt began to rant but Puck just rolled his eyes and tuned him out, wrapping his arms around Rachel again, pulling her close as he started to drift back off into his sleep, longing for a time when he'd be able to sleep through the night once again.

"KURT!" Rachel screamed suddenly, causing Kurt's babbling that got louder with each sentence to finally end. "Will you please just shut up already? I'm trying to sleep and you're constant rambling on about nothing of importance is driving me insane! It's keeping me up and it's distracting me from bright happy dreams which are the key to an enjoyable sleep in which I manage to make it through the night without waking up! So please just shut up and allow me to sleep, because just as your moisturizing ritual is important to you, my nightly routine is important to me and it involves eight hours of sleep!" Rachel snapped. And this time, Kurt listened.


	29. Chapter 29:A Proposal

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 29**

"Are you sure this is everything, Rach?" Kurt asked, dropping down onto Rachel's twin bed in her dorm room at NYADA. He'd just carried up a box full of her sheet music. And he was acting as if he'd just done so much work to help her unpack.

"Is she sure-are you freaking kidding me? She's living in a dorm the size of a goddamn matchbox with another freaking girl! There's no way she's going to be able to fit the shit she brought with her, yet alone anything else she may have forgotten!" Puck snapped.

The tall, strong ex-football player was standing in the doorway with Rachel's suitcases swung over his shoulders and three boxes stacked in his hands, covering his face as he peeked from around them to glare at Kurt.

It wasn't that it was too much weight for the eighteen year old young man. It wasn't that he was tired of constantly running back downstairs to bring Rachel stuff from his truck. It was that he was angry she'd be in a dorm room.

He wanted her to live with him and Kurt-well, he really just wanted Rachel to live with him and have Kurt be the one living in a dorm room a few blocks away from the happy couple, but that wasn't going to happen.

He just couldn't think of a manly, bad-ass way to ask her that without sounding like a whipped, love struck puppy dog. Because no matter what he was like on the inside, he was still a stone cold, grade-A bad ass on the inside.

"Relax, Noah," Rachel giggled, pulling Kurt from her bed and pointing towards the floor so Puck knew where to drop his boxes. "This is all of it, alright?" She shrugged, walking towards the boxes.

"Have you met your roommate yet? Or had any sort of interaction with her? I thought girls always tried to make their rooms all matchy and shit for college," Puck rolled his eyes.

"Girls are not that into coordination. Yes, I have talked to Shayla, but we both like our privacy so we decided not to bother with coordinating the room. Instead, we're dividing it," She shrugged.

"Because that always works out so well," Puck muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Rachel glared at him from her squatting position on the floor as she searched through one of the boxes.

"I have to agree with Puck," Kurt spoke up suddenly.

"Dude, you agree with me?" Puck asked in shock.

"Don't wreck it," Kurt threatened.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel sighed, dragging her sheets towards her bed.

"There's no way all of your stuff is going to fit in this tiny dorm, especially when you only get half of it," Kurt said.

"Well, what am I supposed to do with it? It means to much to send back to Lima," Rachel said, starting to make her bed.

"You could, uh, leave some of your shit at our place," Puck said softly.

He and Kurt had moved into their apartment in the middle of Times Square a week before.

"Noah, that's just silly," Rachel shook her head. "I mean, it wouldn't be practical," She sighed.

"What if you just left some of your stuff there, though?" He wondered.

"Then I'd constantly be running back and forth between your apartment and the school whenever I needed something. Do you know how unpractical that would be? Besides, what if I left something there that I need for classes? I would have to race from here all the way to your place and back. It just wouldn't make any sense," She explained.

"Well, what if _all _of your stuff was at our place? Then you wouldn't have any of your stuff here or have to worry about where you left anything," He wondered, making his way towards her and taking her hands in his, stopping her actions as he turned her towards him, looking down at her with wide, bright eyes.

"Noah, that would be even less practical than me dividing my stuff between my dorm room and your apartment. I would have to wake up and rush to your apartment to get ready, and then hurry back to school before classes. I'd be getting to bed extremely late because my nightly routine would need to be completed at-"

"Rachel, you're not understanding what I'm trying to say," Puck sighed, cutting her off and shaking his head with an amused smile on his face. "You're stuff wouldn't be at my apartment all by itself. What I'm trying to say is...well, what if _you _stayed at my apartment with all of your stuff there?" He asked.

"What are you getting at, Noah? I really don't have time to play these games and I don't understand what you're hinting at," She sighed, taking her hands from him and crossing her arms over her chest, staring at up at him. "So please just be straight forward and ask me whatever it is you're trying to," She sighed.

"Oh my god, Rachel, are you an idiot or something? The guy's albeit begging you to move in with him! He's trying to ask you if you want to move in with him and live in the freaking apartment with him. And he's trying to not be a dick and hint that it's _his _apartment if you say yes and no longer _my _apartment." Kurt cut in.

"I'm not kicking you out, Kurt...it's just...I'd sort of like it if you wouldn't mind moving out, but I'd never throw you out onto the streets. You and I are sort of friends now, after all," Puck said to the scrawny boy. "But, yeah, that was pretty much what I was getting at," He shrugged, turning back to Rachel.

"You...you want me to move in with you?" Rachel asked, looking up at him with bright eyes, a hopeful expression on her face. "Oh my god...Noah, you want me to move in with you? I thought...I never would have-what happened to not doing commitments or anything serious like that? Moving in with you would be the next step in our relationship...you don't do stuff like that," She said, shaking her head at the confusing mess of emotions running through her head.

"Well, I don't...or, I never used to do commitments or make the next move or anything like that, but, well, I am now. I thought the fact that I was changing for you was obvious...I love you, Berry, and I want you to move in with me, even if we have to have Kurt there, too. I want you to live in my house and be able to wake up every morning knowing that you're only a few feet away. I want to fall asleep knowing I can just stop in your room and see you if I get lonely or miss you too much."

"I don't want to have to worry about getting all the way across town and break into a carefully guarded school with all this high tech security and risk getting arrested just to come and see you. I don't want to wake you up in the dead of night, calling you or texting you to check up on you. And I want you to be able to actually come to me if you have a nightmare or need me. And, well, I've noticed some pretty attractive guys that I'm pretty sure you'd be into if you got tempted," He said.

He held his neck, scratching the back of it as he looked down at the ground, a sheepish smile on his face as he blushed a little bit, waiting for her answer. Puck didn't care about what could happen or how awkward it would get if they broke up. He didn't want to think about that, because he loved her and he wanted to be with her forever. He was positive that they would be together forever. There wasn't a doubt in his mind about that.

"I...oh, Noah, of _course _I want to move in with you!" Rachel exclaimed, running into his arms and hugging him tightly. She grabbed her sheets and quickly dropped them into the empty box before grabbing Kurt and racing towards the door. "Can you get all that or do you need help? Nah, you're strong, I'm sure you'll be able to get it!" Rachel called happily over her shoulder as she hurried from the dorm and out to Puck's truck with Kurt at her heels.


	30. Chapter 30: An Epilogue

**Let Me Be Your Star  
A Glee Fan Fiction  
Chapter 30/Epilogue  
_A/N: The song that this chapter is inspired by is the same one that features the one that Rachel is singing in her auditions. The musical is called The Last Five Years and the song is called Climbing Uphill. This is the final chapter of Let Me Be Your Star. I hope you guys have enjoyed the series and like the ending. Read and Review, feel free to PM me._  
**

It was about five years later and Noah and Rachel were living in the same apartment they had first moved into when he'd invited her to move in. Blaine had moved out to New York four years ago and Kurt had gotten into NYADA around the same time, so the two of them were living in their own apartment, but the two couples were constantly together. They were the best of friends, after all. Puck had become a music major and was working as a song writer while Rachel had graduated from NYADA and was constantly auditioning for roles on Broadway. While their careers made it difficult to always be happy and carefree, causing many fights between the two, they couldn't have been happier with their lives. They were madly in love, after all, and nothing could possibly change that.

Right now, Rachel was at an audition for a revival in _A Chorus Line _as Val. Her audition song had been chosen carefully with the thought of the style, arrangement and acting ability needed for her solo-monologue, _Dance 10, Looks 3. _It was sweet, short, and to the point, broadcasting her lovely range and beautiful enunciation. _  
_

_"When you come home to me, I'll wear a sweeter smile/And hope that for a while you'll-_Okay, thank you. Thank you so much," Rachel stopped singing at the director's orders, her fake smile plaster across her face as she sweetly bowed and exited the stage, stepping outside into the cool fall New York breeze just as her phone rang. She sighed, glancing at the screen as she answered, forcing her voice to be as cheerful as possible, because she needed to appear happy at all times when it came to her fathers.

"Oh, no, everything is lovely, daddy. I'm climbing uphill-I really am!" Rachel said brightly as she started her way towards her next audition at a different theater. This one was for the role of Elphaba in _Wicked. _

_Yeah, I'm really climbing uphill. I'm up every morning at six! And then I have to stand in line with two hundred girls that are all older and taller than me...and they've already been to the gym! _Rachel thought bitterly as she listened to her dad telling her all about what was going on in Lima, rolling her eyes at the mentions of Finn Hudson, who was still in that hell hole of a town after having been kicked out of the army. Finn had taken over the New Directions when Mr. Shuester had taken off for DC to be on some council. Her fathers always made sure to tell her about Finn, as if motivating her to never give up on her own dreams by reminding her of the torturous life Finn was choosing for himself with his new job.

Rachel was grateful for an excuse to hang up when she reached the New Amsterdam theater. Until she got her number and learned it was a five hour wait. She would be waiting for five long hours in line, watching as girls came and went, all wearing dresses that looked just like her own.

Until her number was finally called.

Then, she would walk onto the stage where there would be a table full of men-they were always men. Why were they _always _men? But, they were always men-and they were usually gay-and they'd always be somewhat bored looking. Rachel couldn't exactly blame them for that, though. They'd been stuck sitting all day, just like her, only they had to listen to two hundred other girls who managed to belt as high as they possibly could. It had to get boring after a while. _  
_

Rachel had gotten one role in the past five years, and it had been in the chorus of a production of _Memphis. _She'd been allowed a few lines, of course, and she'd had a lovely little dance solo. But that had been her big break on Broadway. And she hadn't come close since then.

And she just couldn't figure out what the problem was. She was a good person, wasn't she? And she was a fairly attractive person, she was sure of that much. And she would swear on anybody's grave that she actually was a talented person. All those awards and praise had to mean something, didn't they? She prayed for a little bit of luck as the music began and she started to sing her song once again, this one arranged in a higher octave to show that she was more than capable of nailing the highest notes in _Defying Gravity _and _No Good Deed. __  
_

_"When you come home-" _

Dammit! _I should have told them I was sick last week! _Rachel thought as she sang on, her character being held onto as her thoughts went all over the place. _They're going to think that I sing like this all the time! And why the hell is the pianist playing so loud? Should I sing louder? Maybe I should be singing louder? Oh, alright, I'll sing louder! Wait a second...did I just-maybe I should just stop and start over? I think I'll just stop and start-why is the director staring at his crotch? And why is that man staring at my resume? Oh my god, please don't stare at my resume! I made up half of my resume! No-look at me! Stop looking at that and look at me! S_he thought drastically, getting more into her character, even starting to move across the stage a little bit.

_Don't look at my shoes! I hate these stupid shoes...why did I wear these shoes? Why'd I pick this song? Why on earth did I pick this career? And why does the pianist hate me? I miss Brad-he was always there and he always did as I wanted! But...if I don't get this call back than I can go to Crate and Barrel with Quinn-not that I really want to spend a day with a pregnant Quinn Fabray, _Rachel thought sarcastically as she remembered her tentative plans with Quinn, who was pregnant with Joe Hart's child. The two had married about a year after Joe had graduated college and they were both going to the same college. Quinn had long since broken up with Finn, who was unmotivated and tried to drag her back to Lima just as he had been.

_No, I don't want to spend a day with Quinn when she's all hormonal, but Noah needs his space to write because I'm obviously such a horrible and annoying distraction to him...oh, shit-what's he going to be like when we have kids? _

_And once again-why am I working so hard? These are the people who put Mr. Shuester on Broadway for pete's sake-oh, shit...then that must mean that...I suck! I suck, I suck, I suck-I'm horrible, aren't I? I must suck if they aren't even getting any enjoyment out of this. I mean, Mr. Shueser and April Rhodes were freaking on Broadway and I'm much more talented than they are! I suck! I suck, I suck, I suck! I have no talent and I should just give up on-_

_"When fin'lly you come home to-_Okay, thank you-thank you so much!" Rachel said brightly as she turned around and left that theater, heading towards yet another one for her third and final audition of the day. This audition was for _West Side Story _and if she didn't get casted as Maria, she really would give up. Because Maria was written for her!

Rachel had sworn long ago that she would not be the girl that was stuck at home in the suburbs with a baby, a dog and a lovely garden of herbs while her husband worked hard to support the family. How could Rachel Berry be expected to be a stay at home mother? Especially if it would require wearing sensible shoes-because even when Rachel had had been at her worst when it came to fashion, she had always had a killer shoe selection.

And she would not settle for a job as a bartender for the rest of her life because of her lack of a back up plan. She refused to push burgers or beer nuts. Rachel was too smart to miss the clues.

And she really would not be the girl who lived in her famous husband's shadow for the rest of her life. She would not be the girl who was asked how it felt to trot along at the genius' heels. Because that was exactly what Puck was. He was a very successful song writer and even wrote the music for some Broadway shows.

But Rachel was not the girl who required a man to get by. She was stronger than that.

_"When you come home to me, I'll wear a sweeter smile," _She sang out at her final audition, actually getting to finish her song for once and getting the applause she was so used to. She bowed and then hurried off. After all, she had a very important date that night.

* * *

"Rachel, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now,"

"You're not going to play games again like you did when you wanted me to move in, are you? Because that was just confusing and Kurt's not here to clear things up," Rachel sighed.

"Ha, ha-very funny. How'd they like your audition song, by the way? No, don't answer that yet. I really need to ask you something and I don't want any of our career talk to ruin it because it's important and it's taken me forever to get up the nerve to actually do it," He sighed, getting up from his chair and kneeling in front of her.

"Rachel, I've loved you for years. I can't even count how many years I've loved you, so, will you do me a favor and be my star?" He asked her, opening a small black velvet box that held a lovely, princess cut diamond ring with an elegant diamond chipped wedding bang positioned in front of it. The ring consisted of a beautifully shaped, perfect size diamond with a slender band. The wedding band itself was simple and elegant-exactly what Rachel had wanted-and told Kurt to tell Puck when Puck finally was ready to propose.

"Yes," Rachel said, a bright smile breaking across her face as she wrapped her arms around her fiance as he grinned at her, rising to his feet and lifting her in the air slightly as a result, his arms wrapped around her waist as he kissed her, not caring who could see them. It didn't matter, because it was New York City which was the city that never slept. The city of dreams. The city of romance and love and magic. It was the city where all of their dreams were coming true. And it was the city that had allowed Puckleberry to be a real couple, turning it into something that was utterly endgame.


End file.
